UN Expert Warns Gaza Destruction Continues Into Fourth Year

Seventy percent of the Gaza Strip currently sits under the control of the Israeli military, which continues to level infrastructure across the enclave. According to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, the violence has resulted in at least 74,237 deaths and 175,206 injuries, though experts suggest these numbers are likely significant undercounts. The toll includes more than 21,000 children, with thousands of survivors facing life-altering amputations often performed without anesthesia.

Since the onset of the military campaign, the IDF has dramatically loosened its rules of engagement. The use of massive ordnance, including 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and AI-driven targeting, has decimated residential areas. Medical professionals and aid workers have repeatedly reported deliberate targeting of civilians, while the population faces ongoing famine and disease. Nearly 90% of Gazans have been forcibly displaced, with two-thirds currently residing in makeshift tents as another winter approaches.

Despite an existing ceasefire, violence persists, with over 1,460 additional deaths reported since the agreement took effect. International legal pressure has mounted, as evidenced by the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and starvation. While the International Court of Justice continues to weigh a formal genocide case brought by South Africa, Albanese emphasizes a deepening global divide between those facilitating the erasure of Palestine and those mobilizing in solidarity to halt the campaign.