Israel's war on Gaza hits 200th day amid plans to invade Rafah
Despite international warnings about a planned Israeli invasion against Rafah, the army persists to go ahead in attacking the tiny city that is home to over a million displaced Palestinians.
According to satellite images by the New York University, more than 56 percent of Gaza buildings have been either destroyed or damaged in addition to the infrastructure. / Photo: AFP
The Israeli army's devastating onslaught on Gaza has entered its 200th day amid plans by Israel to attack Rafah city, southern Gaza, which is home to nearly 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.
In the course of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza since October last year, the Israeli army has killed 34,183 Palestinians and injured over 77,000 others, mostly children and women, as of Tuesday.
According to the Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza, the Israeli army committed 3,021 massacres against families across Gaza since the start of the war.
It added that at least 485 medical staff, 66 civil defence personnel, 140 journalists, and 224 relief workers were among the Palestinian victims.
Over 7,000 Palestinians remain missing under the rubble of the destroyed homes across the Palestinian enclave, the office also said.
It has been 200 days since Israel launched its unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, killing more than 34,000 Palestinians and causing destruction at a rate never seen before.
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Here is the destruction around Al Shifa Hospital and its surroundings in Gaza City pic.twitter.com/FOxgJVzQdZ
Difficult humanitarian conditions
More than 2 million Palestinians suffer from catastrophic living and health conditions, especially for those living in shelter centres, according to UN reports.
The situation is worse in the northern part of Gaza with international warnings that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians there are on the verge of famine.
According to the Palestinian health authorities in Gaza, at least 30 Palestinian children died due to malnutrition and hunger.
The lack of cooking gas forced Palestinians to use alternatives, including coal, wood, and plastic items to cook, endangering their health, the Government Media Office reported.
Vast areas of destruction
Gaza was turned into a vast destroyed area due to the Israeli bombardment which never stopped for 200 days.
The Palestinian official figures estimate that 60 percent of the residential homes across Gaza and over 80 percent of commercial facilities were damaged.
The Government Media Office said the Israeli army fired nearly 75,000 tonnes of explosives across Gaza that left an unprecedented scale of destruction in the tiny enclave.
It added that 86,000 house units were completely destroyed, and 309,000 others were partially damaged but still uninhabitable.
Military developments
The Israeli army still carries out military assaults across Gaza, leaving further destruction in the areas across Gaza.
The last Israeli military offensive was on April 11 against the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza.
Ismail Thawabteh, the director of the Government Media Off ice, said the Israeli army destroyed completely 14 residential buildings, and damaged dozens of others during the Israeli incursion into the Nuseirat refugee camp.
On April 7, the Israeli army withdrew from Khan Younis city, southern Gaza, after a four-month military campaign, leaving a wide scale of destruction across Khan Younis.
On Monday, the Palestinian Civil Defense service said it had recovered 283 bodies of Palestinians killed and buried in mass graves by the Israeli forces in the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
Despite international warnings about a planned Israeli invasion against Rafah, the Israeli army persists to go ahead in attacking the tiny city that is home to nearly 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.
Rafah area is the last remaining area in the enclave where Tel Aviv has not yet formally announced the entry of its troops to continue the onslaught against Palestinians.
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