The battle of northern Gaza is almost over
But a dire humanitarian situation in the south is getting worse
A CITY which, six weeks ago, was home to nearly 1m people is now a hollow shell. When The Economist was invited on November 14th to join an Israeli military-supply convoy to al-Shati, a once-cramped refugee camp in northern Gaza, none of its 90,000 residents was there. Many of the camp’s dense apartment buildings had been destroyed; others were badly damaged. Armoured columns of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had torn up roads. Electricity, water and sewage infrastructure no longer exist. The situation is similar in much of Gaza city and in outlying towns.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The end of the beginning”
More from Middle East & Africa
America concludes genocide has been committed in Sudan—again
The move highlights the magnitude of Sudan’s civil war but does little to end it
Lebanon tries yet again to elect a new president
But it will not be easy to convince its corrupt politicians to reform
The West is making a muddle of its Syria sanctions
Outsiders should be much clearer about how and when they will be lifted
Alawites formed Syria’s elite. Now they are terrified
Fear of reprisal stalks the heartlands of the Assad regime
From inside an obliterated Gaza, gunfire not a ceasefire
In north Gaza the IDF is now facing “a bitter guerrilla war”
Mozambique’s opposition leader flies home into chaos
Will Venâncio Mondlane’s arrival on January 9th deepen or ease political crisis?