Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis: Alarming Death Toll Amid Prolonged Israeli Bombardment
Hyderabad: The daily civilian deaths in Gaza have now surpassed those in any other major conflict of the 21st century, according to a report by the UK-based charity Oxfam. Israel's sustained bombardment of the coastal enclave, ongoing for more than three months, has raised alarms as survivors face heightened risks of hunger, diseases, and cold conditions.
Oxfam disclosed on Thursday that Israel's military is causing an average of 250 Palestinian deaths per day, a rate significantly higher than in recent conflicts such as Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
The crisis is exacerbated by Israel's strict limitations on aid entry into Gaza, allowing only 10 percent of the required weekly food aid to reach the population. This situation poses a severe risk of starvation for those who manage to survive the relentless bombardments.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also released its World Report 2024 on Thursday, emphasizing that civilians in Gaza have been subjected to unprecedented targeting, attacks, abuse, and killings in the recent history of Israel and Palestine.
The report states that Israel's war on Gaza includes acts of collective punishment, potentially constituting war crimes, such as using starvation as a method of warfare by cutting off essential services like water and electricity and blocking critical humanitarian aid.
Notably, at least 23,469 Palestinians have been killed and 59,604 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7, as reported by Gaza's Ministry of Health. In the most recent 24-hour period, Israeli forces carried out 10 mass killings in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 112 deaths and 194 injuries. About 7,000 people remain missing under the rubble and are presumed dead.
South Africa presented a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing the country of committing "genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza, a charge vehemently rejected by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "hypocrisy and lies."
In a parallel development, HRW reported incidents of settler violence against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, reaching the highest daily average since 2006 during the first eight months of 2023. Additionally, Israel's administrative detention without charge or trial has affected at least 3,291 Palestinians, according to Israel Prison Service figures.
Experts analyzing Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data found that the ongoing war in Gaza is among the deadliest and most destructive conflicts in recent history, causing more civilian casualties than the US-led coalition's three-year campaign against ISIS. The offensive has resulted in extensive destruction, comparable to Syria's Aleppo, Ukraine's Mariupol, or the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II. Satellite data indicates damage or destruction to over two-thirds of structures in northern Gaza and a quarter of buildings in the southern area of Khan Younis, including tens of thousands of homes, schools, hospitals, mosques, and stores. UN monitors report about 70 percent of school buildings across Gaza have been damaged. Corey Scher from the CUNY Graduate Center, involved in mapping destruction, notes that "Gaza is now a different color from space. It's a different texture.
