Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

The Israeli Air Force has been conducting an aerial bombardment campaign on the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. During the bombing, Israeli airstrikes killed thousands of Palestinians (mostly civilians), and damaged or destroyed Palestinian schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, and other civilian infrastructure including refugee camps.

By October 2024, Israel said it bombed 40,000 locations in the Gaza Strip (which is 360 km²). By one estimate, as of April 2024 the bomb tonnage dropped on Gaza was more than 70,000 tonnes, surpassing the combined bomb tonnage dropped on Dresden, Hamburg, and London in World War II. Satellite imagery showed at least 69% of all buildings were damaged or destroyed, which surpasses the scale of destruction in Cologne and Dresden and approaches that of Hamburg during World War II. More than 48,000 Palestinians have been reported killed by the Gaza Health Ministry, while a January 2025 analysis in The Lancet concluded that official figures significantly under-report mortality, estimating 64,260 deaths from traumatic injury up to 30 June 2024, and when extended to October 2024 likely exceeding 70,000. Of this total, the analysis estimated that 59.1% were women, children and the elderly. Researchers have estimated a civilian death toll of at least 80%.

Israel has faced accusations of war crimes and genocide due to the large number of civilian casualties and the large percentage of civilian infrastructure destroyed. Israel ordered civilians evacuate, and threatened that civilians who didn't evacuate would be considered "an accomplice in a terrorist organisation". Israel stated that its struck targets were used by Hamas, but an Airwars analysis did not find evidence of militant presence in most Israeli airstrikes during Oct 2023. The United Nations reports that 86% of the Gaza Strip is under Israeli evacuation orders. Satellite data analysis indicates that 80% of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.