Gaza Marks 1,000 Days of War Amid Vast Destruction and Expanding Israeli Control
Gaza Marks 1,000 Days of War Amid Vast Destruction and Expanding Israeli Control
———————————
Gaza authorities say more than 90 percent of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed and Israeli forces now control about 80 percent of the enclave, as the war reached 1,000 days since October 7, 2023.
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, at least 73,066 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 21,500 children and 1,022 babies. A further 9,500 people remain missing, many believed to be buried under rubble, while 173,514 others have been wounded.
The office said Israel has dropped about 223,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza during the war. The scale of destruction has left an estimated 68 million tonnes of rubble, while UN figures indicate that less than 0.5 percent has been cleared.
Gaza’s humanitarian situation remains severe. Reports cited by Al Jazeera said the entire population is at extreme risk of famine, nearly 400,000 people are surviving on one meal a day, and 62 percent of primary healthcare medications are out of stock. The UN has said human development in Gaza has been set back by decades, with life expectancy falling sharply.
Efforts to implement a ceasefire and reconstruction plan have faltered. Analysts said the US-created Board of Peace, established in January to oversee the ceasefire and reconstruction framework, has failed to secure Israeli compliance. Instead of a gradual withdrawal, Israel has expanded its control, while only a fraction of promised aid trucks is entering Gaza.
Negotiations over the next phase remain deadlocked, particularly over Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm before reconstruction proceeds.
In Israel, demonstrations and commemorations were held to mark 1,000 days since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks. Families of victims and former captives criticized the government over what they described as failures, neglect, and the absence of an independent inquiry into the security breakdown that preceded the attacks.
