Internally displaced
It is estimated that, as of October 2025, 1.9 million to 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza — approximately 90 percent to 95 percent of the population — have been internally displaced several times since Oct. 23, 2023. They have been driven to southern Gaza, where they live in makeshift tents without adequate food, water or medicine due to Israel’s blockade on aid trucks. If the ceasefire holds, Israel will allow 400 trucks into Gaza a day.
At least 20,000 children are among the dead; this translates to one child killed every hour for the past 24 months. It is estimated that about one in every 14 Palestinians — or 169,000 men, women and children — have suffered injuries and been left with lifelong disabilities. The UN Children’s Fund has estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 children in Gaza have lost one or more limbs.
There are few medical facilities left for these injured people. By October 2025, between 94 percent and 95 percent of Gaza’s 36 hospitals have been damaged or destroyed. There have been more than 400 attacks on health facilities, ambulances, doctors and health workers. As of August 2025, over 1,700 health care workers have been killed. There are almost no medical supplies available, and amputations are done without anesthesia.
Israeli forces also attacked schools; 400 of these were hit. Some 95.2 percent of schools are partially destroyed and rendered unusable. Some 518 out of 564 schools will need major repairs or total reconstruction. Over 60 university buildings have been completely destroyed. Palestinian students are highly educated, and these schools are a great loss.
The Israeli blockade on food entering Gaza has caused widespread hunger. The world’s leading hunger monitoring agency, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), has assessed that half a million Palestinians — a quarter of Gaza’s population — are suffering from famine. An estimated 460 have already died from hunger.
United States President Donald Trump had bullied Netanyahu a few months ago to apologize to Qatar after Israel launched an attack against it. He said Israel was almost totally isolated and condemned worldwide, but he would help undo that. How he would do that is unclear; it’s a daunting task. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council issued in September 2025 a report saying Israel was guilty of committing genocide against Gazans by employing harsh conditions aimed at destroying the population. It claimed Netanyahu and former defense chief Yoav Gallant had incited genocide with their words and actions.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against the two on Nov. 21, 2024, for alleged crimes against humanity, such as murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. They allegedly used starvation as a weapon and directed attacks against a civilian population.
Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which is supported by many countries, offers the only hope for the Palestinians, and the first phase was reluctantly approved by Israel. For the second phase, Israel is demanding the total surrender of Hamas fighters and the right to keep its forces in Gaza. This impossible demand is where Netanyahu hopes to stop the peace process and resume the war. We hope it will not be so./PN
