March 8, 2024
Gaza – “Not a normal war”
No war is the same. But the Gaza War is particularly unprecedented – on many fronts – the enormous death toll, targeting of children, intentional famine, unprecedented damage to health workers and facilities, emerging threats of infectious disease outbreaks. Several recent articles and posts underscore how horrific this war has been, from the brutality of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks, to the ongoing inhumanity of the Israeli military that has been labeled by many scholars as war crimes and genocide.
Chris McGreal in The Guardian takes us through how this war has been especially gruesome for children. It has been estimated that the Gaza War has killed more than 10,000 children over the last 5 months, often by targeting young children by Israeli snipers. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/gaza-palestinian-children-killed-idf-israel-war
Danielle Poole and her co-authors analyze the targeting of health facilities in Gaza in BMJ Global Health, raising concerns about combatants’ application of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.gh.bmj.com/content/9/4/e014768
A recent report from the World Bank and the United Nations estimates that the damage to critical infrastructure in Gaza amounts to roughly $18.5 billion. Over 9% of buildings including medical facilities are estimated to have been completely damaged. This staggering figure represents nearly 97% of the combined GDP of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022. This World Bank report elaborates on the extent of Infrastructure damage that has happened. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/04/02/joint-world-bank-un-report-assesses-damage-to-gaza-s-infrastructure
Finally, Arwa Damon, NGO leader and ex-CNN journalist writes that “Gaza is unlike anything I’ve ever seen – A sea of misery” in post in Democracy Now! https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/9/arwa_damon_gaza. Dr. Mustafa Barghouti and Muhammed Shehada provide an overview on the results of 6 months of the war on Gaza, including estimating that over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/8/gaza_update
