Eyewitness: Colossal Devastation Gaza

American war journalist Arwa Damon, reporting from Gaza, provides a glimpse into neighborhoods devastated by Israeli airstrikes. The videoclip underscores the dire living conditions faced by Palestinians who are now displaced and homeless.

The clip starts with scenes of the “enormous” levels of destruction of the multi-story buildings. What is the size of bombs that did this the reporter asks.

She is taken on a tour of the wreckage. “This is how people live,” the man said.

“I was going to say. Is this how you are living, amidst the rubble? Damon asks.”

“Yep, this is how we live?”

“This was my parents house,” now of course it’s in absolute wreck.

“This is just beyond the scope of comprehension,” the reporter says.

“We used to sleep here,” one little girl says. “When the Israelis bombed the house, my uncle was martyred, his four sons were killed and so my maternal uncle was martyred as well,” she added.

“We were all inside the house and buried under the debris but thank God we were brought out alive, we were injured but now we are ok.” She pointed out about 10 people were killed in that strike.

“In this block of houses between 87 and 90 people were killed here because of the Israeli bombing,” said another eyewitness.

“A whole neighborhood caved in because of the intensity of the bombings with tower blocks going down… and this is not to say anything about the many people who are still deeply buried under the rubble…which we can get them out.

All of the areas in Gaza that were invaded by Israeli occupation forces have been left unrecognizable, as Israel systematically detonated residential blocks and destroyed critical infrastructure, preventing Palestinians from returning and rendering them completely uninhabitable.

Damon who is the founder of the International Network for Aid, Relief, and Assistance (INARA), observed during her recent trip to Gaza City to distribute aid, “I saw how widespread the destruction is of every single aspect of life that would make the Gaza Strip inhabitable.”

Damon described the scene in Gaza City, saying, “Residents could not recognize the streets or the main thoroughfares because of the level of destruction.”

According to the Israeli  Yedioth Ahronoth the Israeli army has demolished more than 35,000 permanent buildings and 84,000 temporary buildings in Gaza since the beginning of was on Gaza after 7 October 2023.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Israel Kills 200 Lebanese Children – UNICEF

More than four children have been killed or injured every day on average in Lebanon in the first 25 days of a temporary ceasefire with families still unable to return to their homes, said Save the Children.

New data from Lebanon’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday showed that 22 children have been killed and 89 injured since the temporary ceasefire started on 17 April. This brings the number of children killed in Israeli strikes since renewed escalation in hostilities in Lebanon on 2 March to almost 200 with about 2,900 people killed.

The violence and renewed displacement orders have forced more than one million people – or one in six of the population – from their homes with many now living with relatives, in host communities or in collective shelters.

The number of families living in collective shelters has increased 5% since the conditional ceasefire due to renewed displacement orders by Israeli forces and as families return home to find destroyed houses and damaged farmland so move back the collective shelters. There are now 44,800 children among about 125,000 people in collective shelters.

Thousands of children have been living in collective shelters for over two months in overcrowded conditions with inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities leading to reports of scabies and growing health concerns.

Parents are reporting widespread behavioural changes among children living in collective shelters due to a lack of routine and reduced school engagement including loss of appetite and trouble sleeping. Many children are struggling to continue learning with some schools used as collective shelters and also difficulties accessing online learning due to limited electricity, and poor connectivity.

Tala*, 10, has been living in a collective shelter after being displaced from southern Lebanon, said:

“I just want the war to end so I can go home to my village and sleep in my own bed. I really miss school, I want to see my teachers and be with my friends, and study and play again.”

Nora Ingdal, Save the Children’s Lebanon Country Director, said:

“This ‘so called’ ceasefire that still sees more than four children killed or injured every day is not a ceasefire for children. Attacks on civilians have not stopped – it has simply continued under another name. Colleagues have told me that the airstrikes feel more intense in some areas than they ever did before. Children are not safe until there is a permanent and definitive ceasefire with no violations.”

With further peace talks set to take place on Thursday to determine next steps between Lebanon and Israel, Save the Children is calling on the international community to urgently work toward a permanent and definitive ceasefire and ensure flexible and sustained funding to protect children and allow families to return home to resume their lives.

Save the Children has worked in Lebanon since 1953. In collaboration with partners and local authorities, we are distributing essential items in hard-to-reach areas in the south, provide psychosocial support for children, educate families and children about the risks of unexploded ordnance, ensure access to safe water and sanitation facilities, and distribute essential items for those displaced.

ENDS:

Sources:

Lebanon Ministry of Health

Israeli strikes have killed 380 in Lebanon since truce: Health ministry

Lebanon Ministry of Health

Lebanon-Emergency-Sitrep-23-2026.pdf

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