These numbers show how 2 years of war have devastated Palestinian lives in Gaza – Winnipeg Free Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Figures alone cannot capture the toll the Israeli-Hamas war has taken on the Gaza Strip.

But they can help us understand how profoundly the conflict has changed the lives of the 2.1 million Palestinians living in the area and destroyed 365 square kilometers (140 square miles) of territory.

Out of every 10 people, one was killed or wounded in an Israeli strike. Nine have been moved. At least three have not eaten for several days. Of every 100 children, four have lost one or both parents. Of every ten buildings that stood in Gaza before the war, eight are either damaged or destroyed. Out of every 10 houses, nine were destroyed. Of every 10 acres of cropland, eight are demolished (more than three out of every four acres).

The war began when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.

In response, Israeli leaders vowed to carry out a punitive strike on the strip to destroy Hamas and free the hostages.

Here's a closer look at the devastation that followed, by the numbers.

Approximately 11% of Gaza's population is killed or wounded.

The cemeteries are overflowing. Mass graves dot the strip. Israeli airstrikes have killed entire families in their homes. More than 2,000 people seeking food were killed, according to Gaza's health ministry. In some cases, Israel has admitted firing warning shots at chaotic crowds trying to get desperately needed aid.

Israeli attacks on medical facilities and restrictions on the import of medicine have forced doctors to treat advanced burn patients with rudimentary equipment. Israel says it is targeting hospitals because Hamas operates in them and uses them as command centers, although it has provided limited evidence. Hamas security personnel were seen in hospitals and kept some areas off-limits. Israel has said the import restrictions are necessary to prevent Hamas from obtaining the weapons.

The war is the deadliest conflict for journalists, medical workers and UN aid workers in history, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the UN. The British Medical Journal reports that the prevalence of patients with explosive injuries in the Gaza Strip is comparable to data on wounded US combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In total, the Israeli campaign has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 170,000, according to Gaza's health ministry. More than 40,000 of those injured have life-altering injuries, according to the World Health Organization.

The death toll does not include thousands of people believed to be buried in the rubble. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical workers, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and many independent experts consider these figures to be a reliable estimate.

Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian casualties, saying the group's presence in residential areas has turned the population into human shields. However, his strikes often strike houses, killing many people inside without anyone knowing who the target is.

Almost the entire population has been forced to flee their homes, and thousands of people have gone missing.

Countless Palestinian families have fled throughout Gaza and back, forced to move every few months to escape successive Israeli attacks. Many have been forced to flee their homes multiple times, moving between apartments and temporary tent camps as they try to survive. Squalid tent cities now scatter across much of southern Gaza.

The displacements have led to the separation of families. Heavy bombing left thousands of people buried under rubble. Troops round up and detain men, from tens to several hundred at a time, in search of anyone they suspect of links to Hamas. As a result, families broke up.

Israel occupies most of Gaza

The Israeli military has gained control of the vast majority of Gaza, pushing most of the Palestinian population into a small zone along the southern coast. Under Israeli control, the land of Gaza has been transformed. Troops have razed or bulldozed entire neighborhoods of Gaza City and small agricultural villages scattered along the border, paved new roads through the area and built new military posts.

The bombings covered the Gaza Strip with a layer of rubble about 12 times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Using images of Gaza from space, the UN Satellite Center says at least 102,067 buildings have been destroyed. Among the rubble lie the ruins of primary schools and universities, medical clinics and mosques, greenhouses and family homes.

At least 30% of people go days without eating

Hundreds of Palestinians crowd into soup kitchens, jostling for a bowl of lentils. Babies are so malnourished that they weigh less than at birth. After months of warnings from aid groups, the world's leading expert on food crises said in August that famine had begun in Gaza City. Israel is challenging the decision.

Cities have been leveled

Towns scattered across the strip, where Palestinian farmers once planted strawberries and watermelons, wheat and grains, are now empty and razed to the ground. Between May and October 2025, Israeli bombing and destruction virtually wiped out the city of Khuzaa, whose rows of wheat and other grains had turned it into a breadbasket for the city of Khan Yunis.

The war is now in its third year and Israel has launched an offensive to capture Gaza City and destroy Hamas militants it says are hiding there.

Israel says it is also seeking to free the 48 hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip, about 20 of whom the government believes are alive. Since the start of the war, 465 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gaza Strip.

A new American peace plan is under consideration even as Israeli tanks and ground troops threaten the heart of Gaza City.

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Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.