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24 months of conflict have devastated Gaza.

Israel’s bombing campaign and ground invasion have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians according to the Hamas-controlled health authority, nearly the whole populace has been forced to move, and the UN states most homes have been destroyed or severely damaged.

The offensive was launched after Hamas’ unprecedented assault across the border on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were slain and 251 others were taken hostage.

Israel says it is attempting to dismantle the armed and administrative capacities of the militant organization, which is committed to Israel's destruction and has been governing Gaza since 2007.

A ceasefire proposal has been put forward by American President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would halt hostilities at once. The group has consented to release all captives - alive and dead - and to transfer control of Gaza to independent Palestinian experts, but it has not committed to disarmament or to relinquishing any future political role in the leadership of Gaza.

Gaza is only 41km (25 miles) long and 10km wide - roughly one-fourth the area of London - surrounded on three sides by closed borders with Israel and Egypt and by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, where Israel imposes a blockade. It is inhabited by more than 2 million people.

Extent of Damage

More than 90% of homes are believed to be destroyed or damaged; the medical, water, and sanitation infrastructure have broken down; and experts supported by the UN say there is famine in Gaza City.

A UN investigative commission says Israel has committed acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza - even though Israel has rejected the findings of the commission, describing it as "distorted and false".

This graphic overview shows how Gaza has turned into uninhabitable.

How the Destruction Spread

Israel's campaign initially focused on the northern part of Gaza - where it said militants were hiding among the non-combatant residents. The group refuted these allegations.

The town in the north of Beit Hanoun, a mere 2km from the frontier, was one of the first areas hit by Israeli strikes. It experienced heavy damage.

Israel continued to bomb Gaza City and other urban centres in the north and ordered civilians to move south of the Wadi Gaza river before it launched its ground invasion at the conclusion of October 2023.

Simultaneously, Israel conducted aerial bombardments on the southern cities which numerous Gaza residents from the north were fleeing towards. By the end of November, parts of the south of the territory lay in ruins, as did a large portion of the north.

Israeli forces escalated its bombing of southern and central Gaza at the beginning of December, before initiating a land assault on Khan Younis, and by January 2024 more than half of Gaza's buildings had been destroyed or damaged.

By the time a ceasefire was declared in January 2025 an estimated 60% of buildings across the Gaza Strip had been harmed, with Gaza City experiencing the most severe damage. Over 46,000 Palestinians had been fatally wounded, as per Gaza's health ministry.

And the devastation has persisted since the truce was terminated by Israel in the month of March - encompassing Rafah in the south. The UN calculates over 90% of the residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged during the war.

Humanitarian Crisis

Throughout the war, the militant group - which is designated as a terrorist organisation by multiple nations including Israel and the UK - and other armed groups allied to it have been involved in intense battles against Israeli forces on the ground. They have also launched numerous projectiles into Israel, particularly during the initial phase of the war.

However, within Gaza, entire districts have been completely demolished, medical facilities and places of worship have been obliterated and farmland where greenhouses previously existed have been reduced to debris and dust by heavy vehicles and tanks used for demolitions by Israeli troops.

Israel says militants utilize civilian buildings such as medical centers for armed operations - but the group denies these claims.

Prior to the conflict, most of Gaza's 2.1 million people lived in its four main cities - Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, Deir al-Balah, in the centre, and Gaza City.

Within 10 days of 7 October 2023, the Israeli military campaign had compelled almost 50% to abandon their residences, according to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency.

And by the time the truce was implemented 15 months later, an approximately 1.9 million individuals had been forcibly relocated - they continue to be unable to go back.

Households have relocated multiple times as Israel changed the emphasis of their campaign, first instructing people in the north to move south of Wadi Gaza river, which divides Gaza approximately in two, and later ordering people to evacuate a number of "safe zones" in the south.

Leaflet drops by the Israeli army alerted residents to leave ahead of military actions in the region. However, not every Israeli attack are preceded by alerts.

Restricted Areas Grow

After the truce was terminated, it has designated more and more areas of Gaza as prohibited areas - where limitations are enforced - or making them subject to evacuation directives, meaning residents have been instructed to leave completely.

Initially the orders to evacuate covered two regions - in the North Gaza and Khan Younis governorates - with a “no-go” area in place along the whole border.

Humanitarian organizations have to co-ordinate with the Israeli authorities to operate in the "no-go" areas.

Israel had also blocked any relief supplies from entering the territory at the beginning of March - alleging that Hamas was diverting it. Limited aid is now allowed in, although relief groups still say it is nowhere near enough.

By the beginning of April every bakery supported by the UN in Gaza had been closed, the majority of fresh produce were in extremely short supply and medical facilities were rationing painkillers and antibiotics.

The NGO ActionAid warned that a "new cycle of starvation and thirst" was imminent.

The Israeli Defense Minister declared on April 16 that Israel would set up protected areas in Gaza to provide a “buffer” to safeguard Israeli towns even after the war ended - Hamas has insisted that Israeli forces must withdraw from Gaza under any lasting truce.

During that period nearly 70% of Gaza was impacted by Israeli restrictions - encompassing most of the North Gaza and Gaza City governorates in the north and the entire Rafah governorate in the south, according to the UN.

And in May, Israel initiated a ground offensive named Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which the Prime Minister stated would seek to obtain the freedom of the 48 remaining hostages - 20 of whom are believed to be living - and "complete the defeat" of the Palestinian armed group.

From that point onward the areas covered by displacement orders and other restrictions have been expanded to include 82% of Gaza, as per the UN.

The first phase of the operation focused on targets in Rafah, Khan Younis and northern Gaza but in the month of August Israel revealed intentions to seize and control all of Gaza City itself - which it has called the “last stronghold” of Hamas.

The city had been the most crowded part of the territory before the war, with 775,000 people living there.

Those who remained there were instructed to relocate south to al-Mawasi in the southwestern part of the Strip which Israel has classified as a “humanitarian area” - even though it has persisted in conducting lethal attacks there and which the UN said was already overpopulated and unsafe.

Hundreds of thousands of residents have thus far evacuated Gaza City, where a famine was confirmed in August 2025 by a UN-supported agency.

But many more thousands remain there in dire humanitarian conditions, with medical and vital services collapsing.

International Response

In September 2025, several countries, {including