People in Gaza dread what 2026 will bring
Another year has passed, and life in Gaza is still trapped between Israel’s killing machine and the growing indifference of the world. It is another year added to our unique calendar of loss, destruction and death.
In March, I wrote about my fears that Israel might go even further in its genocidal drive than what it had already done. And it did. Israel went beyond even my darkest expectations, reaching an unimaginable level of evil. That evil marked the whole year for us in Gaza.
Palestinians walk past buildings destroyed by the Israeli army in Gaza City on November 25, 2025
Israel killed nearly 7,500 students in Gaza this year: Ministry
Gaza’s Education Ministry has issued a statement, saying at least 7,488 students have been killed and 10,557 injured in Israeli attacks on the enclave in the outgoing year.
In the occupied West Bank, 38 students have been killed and 327 injured, in addition to 324 arrested, it added.
The ministry also noted that 415 teachers and administrators have been killed and 912 injured in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and at least 48 have been arrested in the occupied West Bank.
Israel killed over 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza in 2025 alone: Media Office
Gaza’s Government Media Office has provided the latest figures on the impacts of Israel’s genocidal war in an end-of-year update:
- At least 29,117 Palestinians have been killed or remain missing, including 25,717 people whose bodies were taken to hospitals.
- About half of those killed were children, women and the elderly.
- At least 475 people died from starvation and malnutrition, including 165 children.
- At least 62,853 wounded people were admitted to hospitals.
- Half of Gaza’s 1,244 kidney patients died, and more than 4,441 miscarriages occurred, from malnutrition and lack of healthcare.
- More than 2,700 civilians were arrested.
And in the month of December:
- Four people died from extreme cold in displacement camps, including a 14-day-old baby and a 29-day-old premature baby.
- At least 19 people were killed by collapsing buildings in recent storms.
Infrastructure:
- More than 90 percent of the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure has been destroyed, along with 80 percent of agricultural land.
- More than 112,000 tonnes of explosives were dropped on the Strip.
- Twenty-two hospitals became unusable.
- Thirty educational institutions were destroyed, and another 39 partially destroyed.
- Thirty-four mosques were destroyed, and 100 more damaged.
Housing:
- About 106,400 housing units were destroyed, and 66,000 units were damaged to the point of being uninhabitable.
- Two million people – the vast majority of Gaza’s population – were forcibly displaced.
Aid blockages:
- Gaza experienced 220 days of complete border closures.
- More than 132,000 aid and fuel trucks were prevented from entering.
- At least 500 aid workers and volunteers were killed, while 2,605 Palestinians were killed – and another 19,124 wounded – in “aid traps”.
