Gaza authorities say 90% of enclave destroyed after 1,000 days of war

Gaza authorities said more than 90 percent of the enclave has been destroyed and that Israeli forces now control 80 percent of the territory, 1,000 days after the war began. The figures point to a shattered reconstruction effort and a truce framework that analysts say has failed to curb Israeli military control or restore aid at promised levels.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said Thursday that at least 73,066 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its war on October 7, 2023. The office said more than 21,500 of those killed were children, including 1,022 babies.

The office also reported 9,500 people missing, many believed to be under rubble, and 173,514 wounded. It said Israel has dropped about 223,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza during the war, which it described as 16 times the explosive force of the atomic bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

Truce plan under strain

A ceasefire framework intended to end the conflict has faltered six months after the US-created Board of Peace was set up to oversee the truce and reconstruction, according to Al Jazeera. The board was established in January under a three-phase plan endorsed by the UN Security Council.

Analysts told Al Jazeera the board has not secured Israeli compliance. Instead of the staged withdrawal envisioned under the plan, Israel has expanded its control in Gaza, and only about one-third of the aid trucks Israel committed to allow in each day are entering the enclave, according to Al Jazeera.

Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the October truce took effect last year, Al Jazeera reported. Analyst Iyad Jouda told the network the board has “deviated from its main purpose,” which he described as unifying Gaza and the West Bank, and said it lacks a shared policy or vision. Al Jazeera reported that the board is also short of funds because billions of dollars in pledges have not arrived.

Humanitarian conditions worsen

Gaza’s entire population is at extreme risk of famine, according to Al Jazeera. Nearly 400,000 people are living on one meal a day, and 62 percent of primary healthcare medications are unavailable, the network reported.

The UN said human development in Gaza has been pushed back 77 years and that life expectancy has fallen to 40. It also estimated that the war has left 68 million tonnes of rubble, with only about 310,000 tonnes cleared so far, less than 0.5 percent. At that pace, the UN said removal would take more than 140 years.

Gaza City Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj told Al Jazeera that Gaza had lost “about 85 to 90 percent” of its resources, buildings and infrastructure. He said municipalities had drafted a reconstruction blueprint called the Phoenix Plan and said residents would begin rebuilding themselves once borders open.

Talks over the next phase remain stuck over Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm before reconstruction begins, according to Al Jazeera. Nasser Faram, identified as a former detainee, told the network that ending the occupation should come before discussion of weapons, while Gaza resident Hassan Sharaf said arms should fall under a legitimate governing authority.

Israeli officials and residents mark 1,000 days

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said after a Monday meeting with Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi that Israel should complete the conquest of the remaining area, defeat Hamas and create “a belt of Jewish settlements” as a security buffer for Sderot and nearby Gaza border communities. Smotrich said Israel would not return to the conditions that existed before October 7, 2023.

In Israel, protests and marches marked 1,000 days since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. The October Council, a group of bereaved families and former captives, organized actions accusing the government of blocking an independent inquiry into security failures, according to Al Jazeera.

The Times of Israel reported that 5,000 Israelis have moved to southern areas near Gaza since October 7, 2023. It said at least 62,000 people lived there before the war, about 90 percent of residents have returned, and the Israeli government aims to raise the population to 124,000 by 2030.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.