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Two years of conflict have ravaged Gaza.

Israel’s bombing campaign and military incursion have resulted in over 67,000 Palestinian fatalities according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, almost the entire population has been displaced, and the UN states most homes have been destroyed or severely damaged.

The military operation came in response to Hamas's unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 more were taken hostage.

Israeli authorities claim it is trying to destroy the armed and administrative capacities of the militant organization, which is dedicated to Israel's destruction and has been in control of Gaza since 2007.

A peace plan has been proposed by American President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would halt hostilities at once. The group has consented to free all remaining hostages - living and deceased - and to hand over Gaza’s governance to Palestinian technocrats, but it has not committed to laying down arms or to relinquishing any future political role in Gaza’s leadership.

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 coast to the west, where a naval blockade is enforced by Israel. It is inhabited by more than 2 million people.

Extent of Damage

More than 90% of homes are estimated to be destroyed or damaged; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have broken down; and experts supported by the UN say there is starvation in Gaza City.

A United Nations commission of inquiry says Israel has committed acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza - even though Israeli officials have dismissed the findings of the commission, labeling it as "distorted and false".

This graphic overview shows how Gaza has become in large parts uninhabitable.

How the Destruction Spread

The Israeli operation initially focused on the northern part of Gaza - where it claimed Hamas fighters were concealed within the non-combatant residents. Hamas denied this.

The northern town of Beit Hanoun, a mere 2km from the border, was one of the first areas struck by Israeli strikes. It sustained heavy damage.

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

Simultaneously, Israel conducted aerial bombardments on the urban areas in the south which numerous Gaza residents from the north were escaping to. By the close of November, parts of the south of the territory lay in ruins, as did much of the north.

Israeli forces escalated its bombing of the southern and central regions at the start of December, before initiating a land assault on Khan Younis, and by the start of 2024 more than half of structures in Gaza had been destroyed or damaged.

By the time a ceasefire was declared in early 2025 an approximately 60% of buildings across the Gaza Strip had been harmed, with Gaza City suffering the heaviest destruction. More than 46,000 Palestinians had been fatally wounded, as per Gaza's health ministry.

And the devastation has continued since the truce was terminated by Israel in the month of March - encompassing Rafah in the south. The UN estimates over 90% of the housing units in Gaza have been damaged during the war.

Humanitarian Catastrophe

Throughout the war, the militant group - which is classified as a terror group by Israel, the UK and many other countries - and other armed groups allied to it have been engaged in fierce combat against Israeli troops on the ground. They have also launched numerous projectiles into Israel, particularly during the initial phase of the war.

But in Gaza, entire districts have been razed to the ground, medical facilities and places of worship have been obliterated and farmland where greenhouses once stood have been turned into sand and rubble by armored vehicles and machinery used for destruction by Israeli soldiers.

Israel says militants utilize non-military structures such as medical centers for armed operations - but the group denies these claims.

Before the war, the majority of Gaza’s population lived in its primary urban centers - Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, Deir al-Balah city, in the centre, and the city of Gaza.

Within 10 days of October 7, 2023, Israel’s offensive had compelled almost 50% to leave their homes, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

And by the time the truce was implemented after 15 months, an estimated 1.9m people had been internally displaced - they continue to be unable to go back.

Families have moved multiple times as Israel changed the emphasis of their campaign, first instructing people in the north to relocate southward of Wadi Gaza river, which divides Gaza approximately in two, and subsequently directing people to leave a series of "safe zones" in the south.

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

Expansion of Restricted Zones

After the truce was terminated, it has designated more and more areas of Gaza as prohibited areas - where restrictions are in place - or making them subject to evacuation directives, meaning Gazans have been told to evacuate entirely.

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

Aid agencies have to coordinate with the Israeli authorities to operate in the "no-go" areas.

Israel had also blocked any humanitarian aid from entering Gaza at the beginning of March - accusing Hamas of commandeering it. Restricted assistance is now allowed in, although aid agencies still say it is nowhere near enough.

By the beginning of April every bakery supported by the UN in Gaza had been shut down, most fresh vegetables were in very limited supply and medical facilities were limiting distribution of painkillers and antibiotics.

The humanitarian organization ActionAid warned that a "renewed period of hunger and dehydration" was imminent.

The Israeli Defense Minister announced on April 16 that Israel would set up security zones in Gaza to provide a “buffer” to protect Israeli communities even after the war ended - the group has demanded that Israeli forces must withdraw from Gaza under any permanent ceasefire.

At the time almost 70% of Gaza was impacted by limitations imposed by Israel - including most of the North Gaza and Gaza City governorates in the north and the entire Rafah governorate in the south, as reported by the UN.

And in the month of May, Israel launched a land operation named Operation Gideon's Chariots, which Netanyahu said would seek to secure the release of the 48 remaining hostages - 20 of whom are thought to be alive - and "complete the defeat" of the Palestinian armed group.

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

The initial stage of the operation focused on objectives within northern Gaza, Khan Younis, and Rafah but in the month of August Israel revealed intentions to capture and occupy all of Gaza City itself - which it has referred to as the “last stronghold” of Hamas.

The city had been the most crowded part of the territory prior to the conflict, with 775,000 people living there.

Those who remained there were ordered to move 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 deadly strikes there and which the UN said was already overpopulated and unsafe.

Numerous residents have thus far evacuated Gaza City, where a starvation was verified in August 2025 by a UN-backed body.

But hundreds of thousands more continue to stay in dire humanitarian conditions, with health and other essential services collapsing.

International Response

In September 2025, several countries, {including