On the Ground in Gaza

Israeli military operations have repeatedly struck civilian infrastructure across Gaza, including hospitals, schools, and areas designated as humanitarian safe zones. The explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital resulted in mass civilian casualties and left one of the few remaining medical facilities in northern Gaza operating at severely reduced capacity.

Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical complex, was besieged and subsequently destroyed by Israeli forces following allegations of a Hamas presence beneath the facility—claims that have been widely disputed. In the aftermath, bodies were recovered from the grounds surrounding the hospital, including reports of mass graves. Eyewitness accounts describe civilians and medical personnel being shot by Israeli forces.

Schools sheltering displaced civilians have also been struck. In one incident, Israeli missiles hit a UN-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing and injuring civilians, many of them women and children.

The Al-Mawasi refugee camp, which shelters more than 500,000 displaced people and is designated by Israeli authorities as a humanitarian safe zone, has been subjected to repeated airstrikes. On 13 July, strikes on the camp killed dozens and injured hundreds. Eyewitnesses reported that emergency responders arriving at the scene were subsequently targeted. In a later attack, missiles created deep craters in the sand, burying families beneath their tents. Survivors described digging through debris in search of loved ones. Investigations by UN experts determined that Israel dropped as many as eight 2,000-pound bombs on the camp.

Eight months of bombardment in northern Gaza forced hundreds of thousands into Rafah, with further displacement following ground invasions. Residential areas, safe zones, and essential services have been systematically targeted.