Day 1000+

Some advocacy news sources reported that Friday, July 4, has been 1,000 days since October 7, the day that several groups including Hamas broke through a security barrier fencing them inside the Gaza Strip and took more than 250 Israelis and foreign nationals hostage. Other advocacy groups say that it was yesterday, July 3, that was the 1,000th day. A friend also tells me today is also 2 years, 30 weeks from October 7. So who’s counting?!?

Common summaries say that Hamas killed close to 1,2000 Israelis that day – excluding the mentions of foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens serving in the Israeli army. It’s important to mention that Hamas was not the only group that able to breach the security that always fence Gaza’s into an open air prison. More importantly, it’s long been known that many of the people killed on October 7 were killed by Israeli forces.

Israel’s response, over the last thousand days, has been to “flatten Gaza,” as the Jewish Voice for Peace describes it. That “flattening” has extended to Lebanon, where Hezbollah has made effort to distract Israel from the north.

The Office of the Commissioners of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) snapshot of Gaza at the end of June describes some of the devastation of Gaza and it’s people:

• 87% of cropland damaged
• 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to experience acute malnutrition
• 93% of schools will require reconstruction
• …. and a lot more important and troubling facts.

It’s estimated that it will take up to 60 years to rebuild Gaza due to the destruction caused by Israel.

This is what Gaza looks like after a “ceasefire” that has resulted in Israel controlling more than half of Gaza, and the “Board of Peace” that was developed by President Trump pushing the remaining Gazans into “humanitarian zones” to be continuously monitored.

It’s important to remember the facts if you expect to create peace.