Statement: 365 days of Israeli Genocidal aggression on the Gaza Strip

Escalated displacement and violence; Youth, Persons with Disabilities, and Women are the HARDEST HET!
The World Must URGENTLY ACT TO PREVENT catastrophes of a second genocidal year.

Today marks day #365 (Full calendar year) of the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since the 7th of October 2023. This war has left devastating humanitarian, economic, and social tolls, resulting in unprecedented ongoing catastrophic destructions and mass killings. Over two million people in the Gaza Strip have been under fire for a full year. Getting worse with failures of a permanent ceasefire, which makes this statement “preliminary” and scalable.

As reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 41,800 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of October 2023, including more than 18,000 women and children. Additionally, nearly 97,000 people have been injured; tens of thousands of them have become amputees with permanent physical disabilities. Around 20,000 people have been missing or trapped under rubble, suggesting the actual death toll could be significantly higher.

Endless waves of forcible displacement:

More than 1.9 million people in the Gaza Strip have been internally displacement for one time at least, mainly in the Middle and southern regions of the Gaza Strip, the so-called “safe humanitarian zone,” which hosts a severely displaced population (1.5 million people) in 60 square kilometers.

In the face of a lack of public services and fundamental necessities, and destruction of infrastructure, this area has been facing extraordinary and harsh challenges. Making it worse, as the winter is approaching, there is a dire shortage of waterproof shelters “tents”, blankets, and mattresses to equip makeshift shelters, putting them at serious risk of disaster in the coming months.

Persons with Disabilities:

Since the very beginning of the genocide, PWDs have been among the hardest-hit communities in the Gaza Strip; hundreds have been killed, and thousands have been injured. Over 10,000 citizens have acquired disabilities, adding to the burden of the deficient rehabilitation and healthcare sectors in Gaza.

Ongoing forcible Israeli evacuation orders make it harder for PWDs to flee and often leave them on the front lines of fire. As displacement centers lack accessible facilities, they struggle to access safe humanitarian relief aid services, exacerbating their social and economic vulnerability.

Disadvantaged Youth:

Youth are the highest targeted segment by the Israeli Occupational Forces (IOF) accounting for 24% of the total casualties, while their peer survivors endure immense hardships, heavy, and enormous responsibilities. Thousands of youths have lost their remote jobs due to the destruction of the communications networks in Gaza. The lack of job opportunities and the severe increase in poverty among Palestinian families further intensify the struggles of Gaza’s youth, most of whom have no means to support their families.

All Gazan youth have been deprived from a full academic year, halting their future careers. The frequent aggressions and escalations have inflicted severe psychosocial consequences on the youth; intergenerational chronic traumas, tensions, hopelessness, and uncertainty.

Women and Girls:

Women and girls have been enduring complex and intersectional challenges. Over 10,000 women have been killed (6,000 of them are mothers). According to the United Nations, nearly one million women and girls have lost their homes and/or family members. The genocidal war has placed more critical burdens on Palestinian women, forcing them to household their families, all while being displaced with a lack of access to services and relief resources, including water and fundamental necessities.

The high cost of hygiene supplies, combined with irreducible needs further replicates the women’s suffering.

Education:

All students in Gaza have lost a full academic year (2023-2024). If a ceasefire doesn’t take place, they are threatened with losing the upcoming year too.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have demolished over 120 schools and universities and partially destroyed 332 schools. Since October 2023, 8,572 students have been killed, and 14,089 have been injured. Furthermore, 497 teachers and academic administrators were killed and 3,402 were injured.

Given the ongoing genocide, lack of relief food supplies, and shortages of medications, the Social Developmental Forum (SDF) has been dedicatedly working over the past 365 days to contribute to bridging this gap and promoting the resilience of the Palestinian displaced community.

Therefore, the Social Developmental Forum states and urgently calls for:

• The urgent need for a ceasefire and ending the genocidal war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza; prompted international intervention to prevent the catastrophe from further escalations, especially with winter approaching.
• International entities, actors, and organizations must intervene to provide relief support to the displaced community in Gaza and maximize human and non-human resources to avoid a disaster in the winter, and necessary medicines to all areas of the Gaza Strip, ensuring equal and safe access to everyone.
• An urgent international program must be launched to rebuild Gaza’s destroyed infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and homes, to contribute to a dignified life for survivors.
• In alignment with human rights standards and United Nations resolutions, protection must be guaranteed for women, children, and persons with disabilities in Gaza, ensuring they have adequate access to essential healthcare services.
• Revitalizing education:A systematic process must be adopted to save the future of over 600,000 students and safeguard an entire generation that has been deprived of access to schools and universities for a full year.
• Per articles #61 and #63 of the Geneva Convention’s provisions for the protection of civilians during wartime, a smooth flow of humanitarian aid and protection of humanitarian and relief workers must be prioritized to ensure adequate aid delivery.

Remarking 365 days of this painful ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people, the Social Developmental Forum (SDF) reaffirms its national commitment and steadfastness to promote the resilience of the Palestinian community, through providing holistic relief intervention. This is an open call for all mandated stakeholders to close collaboration and coordination to maximize the mobilization of resources, protect civilians, and support the Palestinian people’s right to live in peace safety, and dignity.