“Our resolve is greater than our pain, and our patience is stronger than the oppression imposed on us.”
-Yasser Arafat
How did the genocide begin?
The tension between the Israeli and Arab people have gone back and forth since the 1940’s, but things only got worse over time rather than improvement and mutual peace between the two. This has mostly been caused by the dispute over land as Israel and Palestine both claims Jerusalem as their capitol, along with the Israeli territory being sandwiched between the West Bank and the Gaza strip, which is Palestinian territory.
From around 2005 up to 2021, political rule and military rule was a huge debate over in the Israel-Palestine area which involved Egypt for a very short time until they were driven out of Gaza, but despite that, Israel still had much control over the Gaza strip, which was even agreed upon by the UN and throughout these years in the early 2000’s, Israel and Hamas (a terrorist group in Gaza that eventually gained political rule) continued to have several fights over major conflicts. This was only the lead-up to the ongoing crisis that is occurring as we breathe in this very moment.
On October 7th, 2023, Hamas fighters launched an assault on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages. This caused Israel to begin a lethal military offensive on Gaza, which has killed more than 46,700 people, majority being women and children. This offensive has lasted for 17 months as of today.
Analytics after One Year of the Genocide (Oct. 2023 – Oct. 2024)
(information by www.aljazeera.com)
Deaths:
At least 41,909 Palestinians have been killed over 365 days. That’s one out of 55 people. 69% of these victims are women and children. 16,756 children killed, and 11,346 women killed.
More than 10,000 Palestinians have been reported missing, unaccounted for, and/or buried under the rubble over 365 days due to the mass destruction in Gaza.
The attacks on hospitals and medical areas in Gaza have killed at least 986 workers over 365 days. 165 doctors, 260 nurses, 184 health associates, 76 pharmacists, and 300 management and support staff, have all been killed.
Among frontline workers, at least 85 civil defense workers have been killed over 365 days.
At least 520 bodies have been recovered from mass graves over 365 days. These mass graves were created by Israeli forces inside of hospitals.
In the attempt to silence the media to prevent awareness of the Palestinians suffering and to prevent help across the globe from sending aid and support to Gaza, more than 175 media workers have been killed over 365 days, including more than 130 journalists.
At least 750 teachers and educational staff have been killed along with at least 11,500 students over 365 days.
At least 410 athletes, sports officials, and coaches have been killed over 365 days. This included 297 footballers and 84 children with dreams of playing for Palestine.
Health conditions:
At least 97,303 Palestinians have been injured over 365 days. That’s one out of 23 people.
1.7 million Palestinians have been infected with contagious diseases over 365 days. That’s 75% of Gaza’s population. At least 350,000 have fallen chronically ill, at least 10,000 cancer patients who can’t get treated, and at least 15,000 who are injured need to travel outside of Gaza to get medical attention, and evacuation is already a struggle.
2.1 million Palestinians have been facing food insecurity over 365 days. That’s 96% of Gaza’s population.
At least 495,000 Palestinians have been facing starvation over 365 days. That’s one out of 5 people.
More than 10,000 Palestinians have been captured over 365 days and are being held in Israeli prisons under grave conditions, including at least 250 women and 80 children. At least 3,332 Palestinians are being held without any charge or trial.
Environment damage:
Estimates of 75,000 tons of explosives have been dropped in Gaza over 365 days, resulting in an estimate of 42 million tons of debris that would take years to clean up, along with an estimated $33 billion in direct damage caused by Israel’s attacks according to experts.
A total of 114 hospitals and clinics have been rendered inoperative over 365 days, with 34 hospitals inoperative and 80 clinics inoperative. 131 ambulances targeted, damaged, and destroyed by Israeli forces and 162 health institutions targeted as well by Israeli forces.
At least 700 water wells across the Gaza strip have been destroyed by Israel over 365 days. 95% of Gaza’s population has no access to clean water due to this.
60% of residential homes and 80% of all commercial facilities have been damaged and/or destroyed over 365 days. Gaza’s media office estimated that 150,000 homes have been completely destroyed, along with more than 3,000 km of electricity networks.
123 schools and universities have been destroyed over 365 days, as well as 87% of schools being damaged. With so many homes destroyed, majority of remaining schools have been turned into shelters, leaving at least 625,000 Palestinian children without education.
At least 206 archaeological and heritage sites have been destroyed over 365 days. A total of 825 mosques have also been attacked, with 611 being destroyed completely and 214 being partially damaged. This includes Gaza’s Great Omari Mosque, along with its 747-year-old library which contained rare manuscripts including old copies of the Quran. All 3 of Gaza’s churches have been hit and damaged as well.
At least 34 sports facilities, stadiums, and gyms have been destroyed over 365 days.
The Ongoing Results of the Genocide
At first, the Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu, responded to the sudden attack from Hamas by beginning his assault on Gaza with the claim of looking for Hamas and trying to wipe out their terrorist organization. Hamas didn’t continue to take many hostages after, while Netanyahu continued to though, and eventually, he began to go all out on the Gaza strip, brutally wiping out thousands of innocents who had nothing to do with the political conflict between him and Hamas. The media has spread the idea around that Netanyahu has been using the excuse of “trying to get rid of Hamas” to wipe out Gaza and take over their land the same way Russia has attempted to take over Ukraine.
In May 2024, 143 out of 193 members of the UN voted in favor of a Palestinian bid for full UN membership. While there are countries and states who do recognize a Palestinian state and/or have been sending aid to Palestine, most European countries, especially the US, do not recognize a Palestinian state, with US and Israel sympathizing with each other significantly. However, when it comes to data, the countries that are listed to either support Palestine or Israel are based on what their government says about the genocide. This does not go for the people, which can be seen all around the world, especially in the US, where majority of the population has been planning boycotts on goods that are aiding Israel, as well as boosting information on the media and sending money to individuals in Palestine against Trump’s liking. People in other countries are doing the exact same, along with showing support for the people in the US who are fighting for Palestine despite having a newly corrupt government and a dangerous president.
“But what about the ceasefire in January 2025?”
In the early hours of March, Israel launched a series of airstrikes where their military claimed as Hamas targets across Gaza. This has been considered the most extensive series of air strikes since the ceasefire, which was put into effect on January 19th, 2025. The Israeli military described their actions as “pre-emptive strikes based on Hamas’s readiness to execute terror attacks, build up force and re-arm”. Netanyahu added on to this saying the action was orders after Hamas’s “repeated refusal to release our hostages”. Hamas reacted furiously to this, accusing Israel of having “decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement”.
The ceasefire is not over and has been in limbo since stage one, where 33 Israeli hostages and 1,900 Palestinians were released. Stage two and three, which have not begun yet, promise a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, the return of all remaining bodies, and the reconstruction of Gaza. Rumors have begun again over the media (which is one of the most powerful tools for activism especially these days where we are all fighting for our rights), and this rumor is unfortunately about Netanyahu making plans to end the ceasefire early and resume his assault on Gaza, as if the ceasefire were for nothing. What’s even more unfortunate is that Netanyahu has Trump alongside him, who is suggesting an ethnic cleansing of the Gaza strip as seen by a disturbing AI generated post on his Twitter and Instagram account suggesting how he wants to turn Gaza into a “Trump Gaza” resort.
How much longer do the Palestinians need to take this suffering for? When will they get to rest? When will the 42,000 victims stop getting rolled around in their graves? Gaza deserves a permanent ceasefire, and the people of Palestine deserve to have independence and their homes back, their lives back, their land back, their humanity back.