Life for ordinary Gazans was difficult prior to October 7, thanks to a combination of Israeli restrictions on trade and movement and Hamass theocratic governance. But since then, Israels military response has made it unbearable.
Nearly 42,000 Gazans have been killed since October 7, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health. Thats about 2 percent of the Gaza Strips entire population, the proportional equivalent of 6.5 million Americans dying in a war. Israeli estimates of Hamas fighters killed ” between 17,000 and 18,000 ” suggest around 60 percent of the dead are civilians.