Number of internally displaced refugees in Gaza after Israeli air strike October 2023
As of October 11th, 2024, the UN estimated that around 1.9 million refugees are currently sheltered in school buildings operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Around 90 percent of Gaza's total population has been displaced due to the ongoing conflict. This was caused by attacks of radical Islamic Hamas' attacks on Israeli territory and the consequent counterstrikes of the Israeli military.
Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023
The radical Islamic Palestinian terror organization Hamas attacked Israel in the early hours of October 7, 2023, on Sabbath - the Jewish day of rest. This strategic attack from Gaza was directed towards Israeli civilians and armed forces. An estimated 2,200 rockets were fired by Hamas from Gaza toward Israeli targets, hitting civilian buildings and military facilities. Hamas fighters entered the Israeli territory, killing around 1,200 of Israeli citizens. In the weeks that followed, the Israeli military conducted an aerial bombardment and launched a ground offensive in Gaza. Humanitarian pauses allowed aid to get into Gaza, but fighting has continued since a weeklong cease-fire ended on December 1, 2023.
The attacks resulted in a massive escalation of the Middle Eastern conflict, which pushed a political solution further away. The number of civilian casualties in Gaza and Israel is rising each day the conflict continues.
Humanitarian situation in Gaza
Following Hamas' attacks on Israel, the Israeli military responded with airstrikes against positions of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and cut the region's supply. The Israeli military warned parts of Gaza about their air strikes and urged the population to leave their houses and seek refuge in the centers. Israel isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and stopped the supply of electricity, food, and fuel. On October 13, 2023, Israel prompted the Palestinian population of Gaza to vacate the region of northern Gaza. Around one million of the 2.06 million Gazans dwelled in northern Gaza in high density. About half of the Gazan population is underaged.
Since the terrorist organization Hamas launched its attacks on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, around 1,200 Israelis have died, and 5,431 have been injured. Through retaliation attacks by the Israeli armed forces against Hamas in Gaza, over 42 thousand Palestinians have died, and around 99 thousand have been injured. There were 719 confirmed Palestinians killed in the Westbank through the ongoing conflict. Hamas's attack on Israel was the deadliest so far.
