**Gaza: The Invisible Humanitarian Crisis**
For the past year, Israel has been waging an offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas, forcing nearly 1.9 million Palestinians from their homes. The escalation of hostilities has left the population in dire straits, with a devastated health system, damaged cultural sites, destroyed educational institutions, and a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by hunger, displacement and disease.
Despite claims that Israeli strikes are targeting civilian infrastructure under the pretext that Hamas is hiding in places like mosques and hospitals, Gazans say they are struggling to survive, let alone rebuild.
CNN spoke to residents of Gaza’s five governorates – North Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah – whose lives and livelihoods have been reduced to ashes. Among them are doctors, shopkeepers, aid workers and educators.
As the Israeli military intensifies its strikes on multiple fronts, Gazans feel the world is turning its gaze away from their plight.
“Gaza is not just a war zone. It is home to millions of people trying to live their lives in unimaginable circumstances,” says Samer Abuzerr, a public health scientist and father of four displaced in central Gaza.
“We are not just victims of violence. We are doctors, teachers, students, parents – and we deserve the same dignity and humanity as everyone else. This war has destroyed not only buildings, but the very fabric of our society.”
Discover the reality of lives in Gaza reduced to ashes through CNN’s interactive analysis, shedding light on the extent of the damage caused by this ongoing conflict.
Gaza, a wounded land, where the silent suffering of an entire people contrasts with the din of bombings and fighting. A humanitarian crisis that deserves urgent attention and coordinated action, in order to restore hope to a population dispossessed of everything and plunged into the darkness of war.