Gaza Authorities Report 90 Percent of Strip Destroyed and Israeli Forces Control 80 Percent at 1,000-Day Mark Since October 2023 War

Gaza authorities stated on 2 July 2026 that more than 90 percent of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed and that Israeli forces control 80 percent of the territory, @AJEnglish reported. The 1,000-day mark since Israel launched its war on Gaza on 7 October 2023 fell on that date.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said at least 73,066 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, including more than 21,500 children and 1,022 babies.

Another 9,500 people are missing, many believed buried under rubble, while 173,514 have been wounded, the office stated. It added that Israel has dropped approximately 223,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza, equal to 16 times the amount the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

The US-created Board of Peace, established in January 2026 to oversee a ceasefire and reconstruction, has not secured full Israeli compliance, @AJEnglish reported.

Only one-third of the daily aid trucks Israel committed to allow into Gaza are entering, and Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the October truce took effect. Gaza’s entire population remains at extreme risk of famine, with nearly 400,000 people surviving on one meal a day and 62 percent of primary healthcare medications out of stock.

The UN stated that human development in Gaza has been set back 77 years and life expectancy has fallen to 40.

An estimated 68 million tonnes of rubble remain, with only about 310,000 tonnes, less than 0.5 percent, cleared at a pace that would take more than 140 years to finish, the UN said. Gaza City Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj stated that 85 to 90 percent of Gaza’s resources, buildings, and infrastructure have been lost.