Gaza has been described as a '140-square-mile graveyard' due to the extensive destruction of buildings and the significant number of people buried beneath the rubble, unaccounted for in official death tolls. Reports indicate that thousands of Gazans remain under the debris, with the most recent estimate of missing persons around 7,000, a figure that has not been updated since November. The situation has rendered it nearly impossible to obtain up-to-date numbers on the dead and missing, as the infrastructure is too damaged and the conditions too chaotic. The devastation has transformed the once vibrant streets of Gaza into scenes of mourning, especially during Ramadan, with families gathering not in celebration but in grief over the loss of loved ones and the disruption of daily life. The situation has been described as a 'genocidal attempt' to wipe out Gaza, likened to the destruction seen in Aleppo or Mariupol. This shadow death toll is a 'leaden asterisk' to the Gazan health ministry’s official tally, according to Ghada Alhaddad.
Families in Gaza no longer gather in celebration but in mourning this Ramadan. The destruction of homes, markets, schools, the loss of loved ones, and the disruption of daily life have left them grappling with unimaginable pain ✍️Opinion by Ghada Alhaddad https://t.co/PKetdJdV1k
"Gaza has become a 140-square-mile graveyard, each destroyed building another jagged tomb for those still buried within." https://t.co/yhORdliqKz
The vibrant nighttime streets of Gaza have fallen into somber silence. Where there was once life, there is now rubble. The joyous sounds of children playing are replaced by the heart-wrenching cries of those trapped beneath it ✍️Opinion by Ghada Alhaddad https://t.co/yiyBthtZpg
Gaza has become a 140-square-mile graveyard, each destroyed building another jagged tomb for those still buried within. The buried make up a shadow death toll, a leaden asterisk to the Gazan health ministry’s official tally. https://t.co/OxuFyk2Xcn
A reminder that many thousands of Gazans are lying dead and uncounted under the rubble, some in neighborhoods where every building has been pancaked. https://t.co/HIgqeULiGq
Thousands of dead Gazans are buried under destroyed buildings; the estimate of how many hasn't been updated since November. NOVEMBER. There's no way we're getting up-to-date numbers out of Gaza anymore, including death counts. Their infrastructure's too shot and it's too chaotic. https://t.co/JuFNhCtAjA
"Gaza has become a 140-square-mile graveyard, each destroyed building another jagged tomb for those still buried within. The most recent estimate for the number of people missing in Gaza is about 7,000. But that figure has not been updated since November." https://t.co/dP85trR9ZW
On top of reported death tolls thousands of people in Gaza still have family members buried under the rubble who are not accounted for in official figures. There has really been a genocidal attempt to wipe out Gaza in the manner of Aleppo or Mariupol: https://t.co/6cciBIv3Hv
Gaza’s shadow death toll: bodies buried beneath the rubble https://t.co/hoE7VxWAhz