Jake Godin
Why is Gaza the heart of global conflict?
While tensions have been fraught between Israel and Palestinians for decades, relations took a dive after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip.
LEARN MOREPosted: 6:52 p.m. EDT Oct 10, 2023
The destruction across the Gaza Strip is sweeping. Two million people live there, in an area just twice the size of Washington, D.C.
And Israeli officials are now warning: There is no end in sight.
Scripps News analyzed videos from inside Gaza. They show how much of the city is being impacted by Israel's strikes, an intense retaliation just days after a surprise attack on southern Israel by Hamas.
The Gaza Ministry of Health is tracking a rising death toll as the bombing campaign continues. And concern is growing as Israeli officials sharpen their warnings.
Before one round of strikes, there was confusion at the Rafah Border Crossing into Egypt — one of the only paths out. The Israeli military had advised Palestinians to leave through that crossing. That advice was then retracted. And then, later, there was an airstrike near the crossing.
Israel has also targeted Gaza's port, with one video showing a smoking column among boats docked at the strip's main seaport.
Other videos, too graphic to show, document bodies — including children being pulled from the rubble of buildings.
Beit Hanoun, a town of about 32,000 people, has been mostly destroyed, according to The Associated Press.
While the Gaza Strip has been under a yearslong blockade by Israel, Israel's military now says they plan to crack down even harder and limit access to basic necessities in order to fight Hamas.
The United Nations Human Rights office confirms it's collecting evidence of war crimes committed by all sides in this war.
"The imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential for their survival is prohibited by international humanitarian law."
So far, tens of thousands of Palestinians have taken shelter in United Nations facilities in the strip, though even some refugees in those areas have been injured in strikes.
