On October 7, 2023, Palestinian armed groups launched thousands of rockets toward Israel and breached Israeli towns, resulting in the loss of lives and the capture of Israeli forces and civilians. A cause we support, but not the method. In response, the Israeli military declared a "state of war alert" and launched strikes on various targets within the Gaza Strip, including residential buildings, schools and healthcare facilities. Since then, the toll has been devastating: thousands killed, over a million displaced, and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. 

Today, we dedicate our opinion page to shed light on the ongoing tragedy that has befallen the people of Gaza. It is a plea for the world to bear witness to this devastating crisis and to recognize the urgent need for empathy, understanding, and assistance. The suffering of Gaza is not just a regional concern; it is a call to the collective conscience of humanity. 

We, in Bangladesh, stand with the suffering Palestinians.

Gaza: Before and after Israel air attacks

Satellite images from Google (left) and Maxar Technologies (right, taken on October 10, 2023), show Al-Gharbi West Mosque in northwest Gaza before and after its destruction by Israeli air strikes.

Satellite images from Google (left) and Maxar Technologies (right, October 10, 2023) of Watan Tower in Gaza before and after its destruction.

IMPACT ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

• 10,00,000 children affected in Gaza
• 668,000 (close to 30% of the population) need protection from gender-based violence.
• 493,000 women and girls being displaced from their homes in Gaza.
• 170 attacks on schools

[Source: Unicef & UN Women]

A helpless Palestinian mother embracing her child at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on 17 October 2023, after arriving from al-Ahli hospital following an explosion.

GAZA BLOCKADE

On October 9, 2023, Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza, leading to a significant reduction in the availability of electricity, water, food, and fuel.

DISRUPTED WATER SUPPLIES

WHO currently estimates that only 3 litres of water per person are available each day in Gaza. Before the supplies were cut, the average water usage per person in Gaza was 84 litres. However, 100 litres of water per person each day are required to meet basic needs.

HUMANITARIAN AID OBSTRUCTED

On October 21, 20 trucks carrying much-needed aid were allowed to enter Gaza. According to the United Nations (UN), a minimum of 100 trucks of humanitarian assistance is required each day. Before the war began, UNRWA was sending 500 trucks into Gaza daily.

LATEST CASUALTY FIGURES

On October 13, 2023, an Israeli attack on Salah-al-Din Street resulted in the death of 70 people and left over 200 people wounded. They were fleeing the northern Gaza Strip after Israel issued an evacuation order on October 12.

Mourners solemnly carrying the bodies of twin Palestinian infants, Ossayd and Mohammad Abu Hmaid, during their funeral in Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip (October 8, 2023). The twins, along with their mother and three sisters, tragically lost their lives in Israeli airstrikes. (Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters, via OSV News)

HEALTH CRISIS

"The intensive care unit needs a lot of electricity to operate, and so do the oxygen machines. Some patients' chemotherapy had to be delayed. But they are due, they must have this treatment to prevent the tumour from spreading to their bodies, organs," 

-Dr Sukeyk, the director of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, Gaza's only cancer hospital with 9,000 patients.

• 11% Hospitals not currently functioning due to severe damage and targeting
• 66% of Ministry of Health primary health care clinics (PHCCs) closed 
• 64% of UNRWA primary health care clinics (PHCCs) closed.

[Source: WHO, 7-16 October 2023]

Among the 136 attacks on healthcare facilities since October 7 in Gaza, the most brutal took place on the evening of October 17, 2023, when Al Ahli Arab Hospital was hit. The initial assessment says 471 people died, and 342 people sustained injuries, including 28 critical injuries.