Afshin Zeinizadeh, researcher in the Palestinian issues
Today is the 100th day of the Zionist regime’s war against Gaza, but the acts of oppression and calamity inflicted on the innocent people of Gaza during this period are innumerable. As the number of days of war increases, the intensity of killings and crimes of this regime increases as well. During this period, the Zionist regime has failed to achieve its declared goals (destroying Hamas and freeing the “hostages”). Therefore, it sees no other option than committing crimes against defenseless civilians and destroying Gaza, because “deterrence through terror” is the faintest possibility to reach its desired deterrence. Although its military has announced that it will fight only against Hamas fighters, the statistics of the martyrs and the destruction of Gaza show the opposite. A brief overview of the crimes of this regime is horrifying.
The martyrs and the wounded
In these one hundred days, more than 23,357 people have been martyred in Gaza, of whom more than 9,600 are children and 6,750 are women, meaning that more than 70% of the martyrs are women and children. Also, more than 59,410 people have been injured, among them 6,327 women and 8,663 children, and more than 8,000 people are missing.
The Zionist military occupation forces published an online map of the Gaza Strip on December 1, dividing the enclave into more than 600 numbered blocks. It asked Gaza’s civilians to identify the block corresponding with their area of residence and evacuate when ordered. However, leaflets ordering evacuations are inconsistent with online warnings, and the regime targeted many areas it had previously declared safe in order to increase civilian casualties. In addition, many residents of Gaza have no reliable way to access the map due to limited access to electricity or the internet, because the blockade of the Gaza Strip and its extensive bombardment have destroyed the territory’s telecommunications infrastructure. People are increasingly being relocated to smaller areas due to the constant bombardment, because they have to go to safer places. But in practice, nowhere in Gaza is truly safe. More than a million people – about half of the population – have been forced to take refuge in Rafah on the Egyptian border.
There is severe overcrowding at this border crossing. Food and water are very scarce, and essential medicines cannot be found. These crises are aggravated by the Zionist regime’s restrictions on the delivery of aid, closing the borders, imposing blockades, and preventing access. Currently, Palestinians in Gaza receive only 10 percent of the weekly food aid they need.
Zionist forces kill 250 Palestinians directly every day. This is while the risk of famine and scarcity of necessities of life can indirectly add to this figure. For example, the average daily death toll in Gaza is significantly higher than in any other armed conflict in recent years, including Syria (96.5 deaths per day), Sudan (51.6), Iraq (50.8), Ukraine (43.9), Afghanistan (23.8) and Yemen (15.8).
So far, more than 1,000 children have lost one or both of their legs, that is, 10 children every day. At least 25,000 children have been orphaned by the loss of their parents. More than 85 percent, equivalent to 1.9 million people, of the population of Gaza have been displaced, and 1.7 million of them are settled in IDP camps, among whom 900,000 are children.
Another factor behind the increase in the number of martyrs is the lack of medicine and health facilities for the treatment and care of the sick and injured, given that with the deliberate targeting of Gaza hospitals by the Zionist regime, its healthcare system completely collapsed on November 10. Therefore, proximity to corpses, lack of clean water and food, and the production and littering of more than 15 million tons of debris in Gaza have greatly increased the risks of infectious diseases there. The Zionist regime prevents the birth of Palestinian babies by implementing measures such as destroying the fuel sources of hospitals, solar panels, and health facilities.
In just one case, an attack on pipelines and a pumping station flooded the Jabalya refugee camp with sewage, and cases of diarrhea increased 40-fold due to a lack of safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Health concerns and risks are much greater for pregnant women, children and the weak, namely the disabled or the elderly.
Every hour, 15 people, 6 of whom are children, are martyred and 35 people are injured; 42 bombs fall on Gaza and 12 buildings are destroyed. In these one hundred days, at least 112 journalists have been martyred in Gaza. In the West Bank, 340 people have been martyred so far, 84 of whom are children, and more than 3,949 people have been wounded. The number of martyrs and wounded in this war reflects the worldview and attitude of the leaders of this regime towards the Palestinians, namely its prime minister who invited them to kill every man, woman and infant by comparing them to the Amalek in his October 28 speech addressing the Zionist military. Also, Amihai Eliyahu, the heritage minister of this regime, in his speech on November 5, called for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza to destroy all its inhabitants. Their intention is nothing but the genocide of Palestinians, as it is manifested in the mass graves in Gaza.
Massive destruction and demolition
According to the latest data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Palestinian Authority, the Zionist regime’s attacks in these one hundred days have damaged or destroyed more than half of the houses in Gaza or about 359,000 residential units. 370 educational and cultural centers and 30 out of 35 hospitals in Gaza have been completely destroyed. In addition, this regime has destroyed 121 ambulances, 221 mosques, and 3 churches.
The forced relocation of Gaza residents takes place while Gaza has been under the tightest land, sea and air blockade by Israel since 2007, and the entry and exit of every item is strictly monitored by the Zionist regime. This is while 2.3 million people live in the most densely populated region of the world in an area of about 350 square kilometers, and the Zionist regime, contrary to its false claims, does not use precision strikes to hit its targets, and in addition, the use of heavy ammunition increases the casualties.
The fact that the weather is getting cold in Gaza as well as the lack of suitable clothes and blankets, fuel, heating devices, and hot water make the situation more critical. Temporary shelters and camps have no protection or heating during rains, and sometimes people buy blankets by selling their food or water. In many cases, each family has only one blanket if they are lucky.
In less than a hundred days, due to relentless attacks on Gaza, more than half of the territory’s water and sewage systems have been seriously damaged and put out of order. Also, as a result of these attacks, 22% of agricultural land in Gaza has been completely destroyed and left unusable, and many plantations have also been destroyed. Even the animals were not spared from Zionist viciousness. In just one case, the zoo in Jabalya, which housed more than 100 species, was destroyed due to the attacks of this regime. The Zionist regime has targeted the Gaza Strip with 45,000 missiles and 65,000 tons of bombs in these one hundred days.
What has been pointed out so far is a small portion of the crimes committed by the Zionist regime against the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip, which continues amid global silence. An important point in the course of this war and massacre is the regime’s disregard for world public opinion, while the news of its crimes is being broadcast to the world instantly. Now, imagining what atrocities this regime has committed against the Palestinian people in the past 75 years which have been buried in history is absolutely horrifying. The Gaza war exposed the innocent-killing and child-killing nature of this regime to the world and showed that it will not shy away from committing any crime due to its desperation and failure, in a way that it is currently facing the most hideous accusations, including genocide, in the International Court of Justice. This war will also end with the victory of the innocent Gaza, but if one day the Guinness World Records considered a place for the most bloodthirsty criminals, the Zionist regime will definitely win an important spot just for its brutal massacre in the recent Gaza war. Although Gaza and the Palestinian people have been subjected to an unprecedented level of oppression in the history of mankind – an oppression and suffering that does not allow the world’s awakened consciences to rest even for a moment – this issue has another dimension, and that is how the Palestinian nation and the people of Gaza have shined brightly. Such resistance, patience, trust in God, and perseverance promise a definite victory. As the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khamenei, pointed out:
Our hearts are bleeding because of the sufferings of the Palestinian people, especially the people of Gaza. We are upset. However, when we take a closer look at what is taking place, we realize that the victors in this battle are the people of Gaza and Palestine. They have been able to do great things… God willing, the ultimate victory, which is not too far away, will be for the Palestinian people and Palestine.
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