After the deadliest attack in Israel’s 75-year history, which claimed more than 1,200 lives, Israeli officials have vowed to cripple Hamas — the Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and spearheaded the assault.
Israel’s military says it has carried out more than 2,000 strikes across the territory since Saturday. More than 1,100 people have been killed, according to Palestinian officials.
The Washington Post mapped some of the most devastating strikes. Many were concentrated in heavily populated areas in the north.
Israel has pledged to focus its fire on Hamas fighters and abide by international law. Hamas said Wednesday that Israeli strikes targeted the head of its military wing, killing his brother. Two members of the group’s political office were killed Tuesday.
But mosques, hospitals, residential buildings and international aid groups have also been hit. The World Health Organization said Tuesday that 13 health-care facilities were affected by the strikes. Nine U.N. staffers were killed in the strikes.
Gazans have lived under an Israeli blockade for 16 years. The 140-square-mile territory is among the most densely populated places on Earth. Of its 2 million people, about half are children — many have never been outside the strip.
Israel announced a complete siege of Gaza after the attacks. The country cut off power to the territory, leaving many residents in the dark. On Wednesday, Palestinian officials confirmed Gaza’s sole power plant had run out of fuel. Access to water, sanitation facilities and health care will be affected by the outages, aid groups warned.
All crossings out of the enclave have been closed, leaving residents with nowhere to go.
More than 263,000 people are displaced across the strip, according to the U.N. Many have sought shelter in overcrowded U.N. schools. More than 1,000 housing units are estimated to have been destroyed.
The strikes are the beginning of what Israel has said will be its largest-ever offensive in Gaza, where people have already lived through multiple wars since Hamas seized power. Some 360,000 Israeli reservists have been called up, the most in 50 years. Troops are massed on Gaza’s border as Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel.
“We are moving into the offensive now, with all kinds of capabilities and angles,” Israeli Gen. Dan Goldfuss, who commands the country’s 98th Paratroopers Division, told reporters Tuesday.
“The most important thing is that we teach the other side that there is no way that they can do this without us changing the reality.”
