The Israeli occupation continues its operations against civilians and their homes, turning them into military objectives, especially amid the international community's silence and failure to take action to halt the aggression.
After 100 days of the aggression, the government's media office reported that the occupation committed 2,000 massacres, resulting in the martyrdom of about 24,000 Palestinians, including 10,400 children and 7,100 women. Additionally, around 7,000 individuals remain missing under the rubble, more than 60,000 Palestinians are injured, and another 7,000 require immediate travel for medical treatment.
The ongoing 100-day Israeli war has displaced 2 million people, who left their homes in the northern and central parts of the Gaza Strip, heading south. It has also destroyed 69,300 residential units completely, along with the partial destruction of 290,000 housing units, using 65,000 tons of explosives in Gaza. Approximately 400,000 Palestinians were inflicted by infectious diseases due to displacement.
According to reports, more than 1.9 million people have been displaced from their homes, with over 1.4 million of them residing in overcrowded shelters. Such conditions create a fertile environment for the continuous rise of infectious diseases. In today’s Gaza, there is, on average, only one shower per 4,500 people and one toilet for every 220 people. Clean water remains scarce, and air pollution levels continue to increase, making the spread of infectious diseases inevitable.
According to Palestinian sources, the occupation has destroyed 100 schools and universities completely, along with 295 partially. It has also destroyed 145 mosques completely and another 243 partially, in addition to targeting and destroying three churches.
Difficult health situation
Palestinian sources and international organizations state that the occupation targeted 30 hospitals, rendering them non-operational, alongside 53 health centres. It also targeted 150 health facilities, partially destroying them, along with destroying 121 ambulances.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated in a report that hunger is sweeping Gaza, and this is expected to increase diseases, particularly affecting children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and the elderly. The Global Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates that Gaza is facing "catastrophic levels of food insecurity," with the looming threat of an "increasing famine every day."
A staggering 93 percent of Gaza's population faces unprecedented levels of hunger, amid food shortages and elevated malnutrition levels. At least one in every four households is experiencing "catastrophic conditions," suffering from severe food shortages or hunger and resorting to extreme measures to obtain a simple meal. The grim specters of hunger, deprivation, and death are palpable.
WHO staff reported that everyone they spoke to during their recent missions to northern Gaza expressed their feelings of hunger. People were requesting food from them wherever they went, including hospitals and emergency wards. "We were moving all over Gaza to deliver medical supplies, and people rushed to our trucks hoping they would carry food," these employees noted, describing it as a "sign of desperation."
The residents of Gaza, who have already suffered enough, are now facing death from hunger and easily treatable diseases within an effective healthcare system. This should stop. Food and other aid should flow in much larger quantities. The WHO reiterates its call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Fertile ground for the spread of infectious diseases
Gaza is already witnessing increased rates of infectious diseases. Over 100,000 cases of diarrhea have been reported since mid-October 2023, half of them among children under the age of 5. The number of cases has increased 25 times compared to before the conflict.
Over 150,000 cases of upper respiratory tract infections have been reported, along with many cases of meningitis, skin rashes, scabies, lice, and impetigo. Suspected cases of hepatitis are also being considered, as many individuals show signs of jaundice.
Although a healthy body can easily resist these diseases, a frail and weakened body will struggle to fend them off. Hunger weakens the body's defenses and opens the door for disease.
Malnutrition increases the risk of children dying from diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and measles, especially in an environment lacking life-saving health services. Even if a child survives malnutrition, its effects may haunt them for life, hindering growth and cognitive development.
The scarcity of sanitation services and hygiene along with the collapse of the healthcare system exacerbate this toxic mix.
It is heartbreaking that access to healthcare throughout Gaza has decreased amid the ongoing war, causing the health system to deteriorate. With the healthcare system on the brink of collapse, those facing this deadly mix of hunger and disease have few options left.
Barghouti’s assessment of Israeli aggression
In an interview with Al-Ahram, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, offered a comprehensive assessment of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, marking its 100th day.
Dr. Barghouti began his words by emphasizing the profound failure of the Israeli occupation to achieve its four primary objectives. Firstly, he debunked the notion of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, calling it the backbone of the aggression. He also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deceit, citing his early advocacy for the displacement of Gaza residents.
The second objective, the uprooting of Palestinian resistance, has faced unequivocal defeat. Despite a month-long onslaught involving airstrikes and ground incursions, Israel failed to take control, as evident from the resilient resistance.
Israel's third objective, asserting dominance and occupying the military, has also failed. Dr. Barghouti questioned Israel's inability to impose control despite prolonged bombardment and tank incursions.
The attempted recovery of prisoners has constituted the fourth failure, prompting what Barghouti described as a genocidal war to conceal this shortcoming.
The crucial question, according to Dr. Barghouti, is how to turn this failure – comparable to the 1948 Nakba in terms of human losses – into an opportunity for the Palestinian people. He acknowledged that this transformation requires multifaceted actions.
Addressing the Israeli aversion to resistance and the Palestinian Authority, Barghouti proposed three essential Palestinian steps. First, a unified national leadership encompassing all factions should be formed, serving as a reference to a temporary national unity government. This government would restore and reaffirm the unity between Gaza and the West Bank in the face of Israeli projects.
The second step involves the establishment of a temporary national unity government, gaining the trust of all factions and working towards the unity of Gaza and the West Bank. This interim government would set the stage for free and democratic Palestinian elections, initially scheduled for 2021.
Dr. Barghouti believes that implementing these steps will thwart the entire Israeli project and discourage dangerous schemes orchestrated against the Palestinian people by external forces, particularly the United States and Israel. Such actions, he contends, would send a powerful message to the world to affirm Palestinian autonomy and their ability to manage their affairs independently and democratically, even as they navigate the challenges of the ongoing conflict.
Barghouti emphasizes that despite the suffering, leaders, politicians, and activists have to sow hope among people, not despair and frustration. He considers his presence in Arab and Western media as a means of distributing "flyers" (political statements) to citizens to plant hope.
He believes that the Zionist movement has entered a fascist stage, making it more dangerous, weaker, and an easier target for Palestinian resistance. According to Barghouti, this movement sees ethnic cleansing as a solution at the expense of the two-state solution or a dual-nationality state.
South Africa’s complaint against Israel
In a significant political development on the global stage, alongside the escalating international public support for ending the genocidal war, South Africa has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in The Hague, calling for an end to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. This move is seen by Palestinians as a crucial step, at least in exposing and embarrassing Israel, should a decision condemning the killing of Palestinian civilians be issued.
In this context, journalist and political analyst Najib Faraj emphasized that South Africa's call comes within the framework of the international popular campaign against Israel. He stressed that South Africa's initiation of legal action against Israel is highly significant, as it is neither an Arab nor an Islamic state but one that dares to take such a step — a move that no Arab or Islamic country has ventured to make.
According to Faraj, this complaint aims to "expose Israel." He added that in Cape Town, South Africa’s capital, demonstrations are taking place to support their country's stance. Participants raised Palestinian flags, banners, and posters condemning Israel's crimes, holding models of children killed by war machines. This exposure and pursuit of Israel are happening on multiple fronts.
“As Palestinians, we should appreciate this call because it is the first time Israel has been put on trial,” Faraj further stated. It contributes to exposing Israel and highlights its continuous crimes and acts of terrorism in the Gaza Strip, despite the awareness that a major power, the United States, protects Israel.
Short link: