Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast
The civilian population of the Gaza Strip is estimated at about 2.2 million people. Of these, 1.8 million have been displaced from their homes by Israeli bombing. In most cases, Israel won’t allow them to leave Gaza entirely.
For now, they’re sheltering where they can—1.1 million are in UN facilities. Many more are scattered in places like churches, mosques, and hospitals. And a great many have lost their lives when those shelters have themselves been bombed.
We keep being told that the goal of the campaign is to “eliminate” or “destroy” Hamas. In practice, it looks a whole lot more like indiscriminate payback against the Palestinian people as a whole for the atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7.