Today, Gaza, a tiny, densely populated enclave in the Middle East, has become the scene of one of the world’s most deadly conflicts. This would make such a densely populated area to be more than four times smaller than Greater London. Even before the current hostilities ignited, it was already facing significant destruction. Since October 7, Israel has launched a historic military offensive. This has all but cut off Gaza from the eyes of international media, severely limiting their ability to judge just how horrific the humanitarian crisis is currently developing in Gaza.
This conflict, now in its third month, has resulted in the deaths of more than 60,000 individuals due to Israeli airstrikes, according to health authorities. This scenario has reached its pinnacle of disaster considering that Gaza was the life source to an energetic and fast-paced ecosystem only a couple of years ago. Yet today, Gaza City and northern Gaza are a landscape of shattered concrete and impenetrable dust.
On 22 May, heavy Israeli airstrikes plunged the overwhelmed Baraka area into even greater destruction. In the center of this violence, 11-year-old Yaqeen Hammad, dubbed Gaza’s youngest social media influencer, lost her life in the conflict. Such losses remind us of the devastating impact the conflict has had on the region’s younger generation.
As four months of intense combat continues, Khan Younis becomes a front-line city, encircled by Israeli troops. Through this continued siege, conditions in and around the hospitals have become dire. The struggle for basic necessities has intensified, with reports indicating that hundreds have died in Gaza’s scramble for food since the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over food deliveries in May. According to Israeli data, airdrops in the first 21 months of war amounted to only 104 days airdropped. Shocking as that seems, it was barely enough for the whole territory for four days.
Besides civilian casualties, Gaza has witnessed enormous losses among journalists. Over 230 of those Palestinian journalists have been laid to rest in shallow graves. Her shocking death underscores the grave risks journalists endure in their efforts to report on the steadily worsening war.
Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost area, has been almost completely erased. This destruction contributes to a feeling similar to that of an ancient city, revealed after millennia of cover. The landscape, as that legendary tree reminds, testifies to the pain that the failed experiment of its people has caused.
Despite the turmoil, advocacy efforts to deliver aid have already started. According to the Jordanian military, their forces have recently completed 140 airdrop operations. They worked alongside other nations to conduct 293 extra missions, bringing a total of 325 tonnes of relief goods to Gaza since they restarted airdrops on July 27th. A grim reality still looms over whether these efforts will ever be enough to meet the massive needs left in the wake for the survivors.
“With today’s airdrops, the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army has now conducted 140 airdrop operations, in addition to 293 in cooperation with other countries, delivering 325 tonnes of aid to Gaza since the resumption of airdrops on 27 July,” – Jordanian military