Israel’s scorched earth campaign leaves Gaza in ruins | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Palestinians in Gaza are facing apocalyptic landscape destruction following a ceasefire that halted more than 15 months of Israeli attacks on the besieged enclave.

Across Gaza, where refugee camps have been built interspersed between cities, piles of rubble stretch as far as the eye can see.

Critics say Israel has waged a scorched earth campaign to destroy the fabric of life in Gaza, accusations that considered at two world courtsincluding the crime of genocide.

International rights groups say the massive destruction is part of a wider pattern of extermination and genocide targeting Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denies. The groups dispute Israel’s position that the destruction is the result of military activity.

A United Nations assessment based on satellite images showed that more than 60,000 buildings across Gaza have been destroyed and more than 20,000 badly damaged in the war since December 1, 2024.

Israel has also carved out of its fence a buffer zone about one kilometer inside Gaza, as well as inside the Netzarim Corridor that bisects northern Gaza from the south, and along the Philadelphia Corridor, a stretch of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Huge belts in these areas are aligned.