The Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza entered its second month on Tuesday morning, with the Palestinian death toll reaching the grim milestone of 10,000 people dead, in addition to over 160 killed in the occupied West Bank.
The shelling has been unprecedented in its intensity and the scale of destruction it's causing, even for the besieged Gaza Strip, which has suffered through many Israeli bombing campaigns in the past, though none of them reached the level of devastation witnessed today.
The bombardment was coupled with a suffocating Israeli siege, cutting off fuel, electricity, water and food supplies to Gaza. Throughout the bombing campaign, Israel has been given the full support of major western powers, led by the United States and the United Kingdom.
Israel says it's fighting Hamas, which led a surprise attack into Israel on 7 October that left around 1,400 people killed, according to Israeli officials.
But the shelling in Gaza has destroyed dozens of homes, hospitals, schools, bakeries, and water tanks - among other civilian infrastructure. The vast majority of those killed and wounded are civilians who were killed while sleeping in their homes, sheltering in schools or queueing up to buy bread.
On average, a Palestinian child was killed every 10 minutes in Gaza in the past month, in addition to thousands who were wounded.
As we enter the second month, calls for Israel to scale back its bombardment are growing, but there are no signs such a move will happen soon. Meanwhile, Israeli tanks are operating inside the Gaza Strip, aiming to invade Gaza City, the heart of the small Palestinian territory home to its main hospital and an estimated 400,000 people.
MEE
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