Israel vows not to ‘stop’ as Gaza death toll nears 24,000 on day 100 of war
On day 100 of the war on Gaza, Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip continues with no sign of easing, amid a growing humanitarian catastrophe and the looming threat of a regional spillover.
At least 23,968 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed since the war began on October 7, after Hamas fighters carried out an assault on southern Israel that killed 1,139 there. Israel said about 240 people were also taken captive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to “continue [the war] until victory”, saying in a televised address late on Saturday that “it is possible and necessary”.
“No one will stop us – not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and no one else,” Netanyahu said, in reference to a case that South Africa brought to the International Court of Justice seeking emergency measures to halt Israel’s war, and in reference to the Iran-aligned “axis of resistance” groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
The war has been by far the bloodiest and most destructive episode of fighting in the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
‘Staining our shared humanity’
In early January, Gaza’s media office said Israel had dropped more than 65,000 tonnes of bombs on the territory. Analysis of satellite data cited by the Associated Press shows that about 33 percent of buildings in the whole Strip have been destroyed.
The United Nations estimates that 1.9 million people, nearly 85 percent of the population, have been internally displaced, while more than 90 percent face acute food insecurity.
“The massive destruction, displacement, hunger and loss of last 100 days are staining our shared humanity,” the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Sunday.
“The humanitarian operation has become one of the most complex & challenging in the world,” it added in a post on the social media platform X.
Palestine’s foreign ministry said that in 100 days, “the Israeli occupation has turned Gaza into an uninhabitable place, committed horrific crimes”. It added that “the international community was “again failing” to implement international resolutions related to the Palestinian cause.
