The Israeli Air Force has conducted numerous concerted aerial bombardment campaigns on the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. Since the de jure enactment of a ceasefire in October 2025, strikes have continued but have become less frequent.
The bombing, combined with other simultaneous Israeli military actions in Gaza, killed at least 72,000 Palestinians (mostly civilians), which is between 3% and 4% of the total population of the territory, and damaged or destroyed Palestinian schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, and other civilian infrastructure including refugee camps.
Israel said the bombing was targeted, and by October 2024, Israel said it bombed 40,000 targets in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli military intelligence members, if a specific target was given to the air force to bomb, that target was usually a family home; they said the method of generating targets was that a list of persons considered likely to be militants was generated by software, and their family homes were chosen as targets.
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. An analysis in The Lancet concluded that, as of January 2025, official figures significantly under-report mortality; the analysis estimated 64,260 deaths from traumatic injury up to 30 June 2024, and when extended to October 2024 likely exceeding 70,000. The recorded death toll, per the Gaza Health Ministry and as of August 2026, is over 73,000, not including those missing and presumed dead. Researchers have estimated the percentage of civilians among the fatalities at not less than 80%.
The aerial bombing and artillery shelling campaign has been accompanied or followed by destruction of infrastructure by other means. Areas including Rafah have been razed to the ground in a planned way, by means of controlled demolitions and bulldozing.
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 did not evacuate would be considered "an accomplice in a terrorist organisation", thus implying legitimacy for their bombing. 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 in October 2023. The United Nations reported that 86% of the Gaza Strip was under Israeli evacuation orders. Satellite data analysis indicated that 80% of the buildings in northern Gaza had been damaged or destroyed.
Background
Israel's bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip began in response to the October 7 attacks. In prior conflicts — such as the 2014 Gaza War — Israel damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of buildings. The costs of rebuilding in prior conflicts have estimated to range in the billions of dollars.
Israel alleges that hospitals, clinics, mosques and schools are used for fighting, and also claims that ambulances transport combat equipment and militants throughout the Gaza Strip. Israel published videos from alleged interrogations of captured militants telling about the military activities in hospitals and ambulances, and other IDF videos show alleged use for weapons storage, and as access points to warfare tunnels. The IDF says that such military use is a breach of international law.
Airstrikes before 7 October in 2023
In May 2023, airstrikes on the family homes of Palestinian Islamic Jihad members in the Gaza Strip killed 13 people, three alleged militants, and 10 civilian family members. Reports on the total number of dead ranged from 12 to 15. The dead included four women and four children. The airstrikes were in response to fire from Islamic Jihad, that was in turn in response to the death in Israeli custody of a member of their political wing, Khader Adnan. Israel claimed two of the men, Jihad Ghannam and Tareq Izzeldeen were responsible for attacks in the West Bank.
There were three days of Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip in late September 2023. Dozens of people were wounded on the first day. Earlier that week Israeli forces shot protestors at the border, as they threw explosives at Israeli posts.
Munitions
The Israeli bombing campaign has used mostly American-made bombs. From October 2023 until July 2024, the US has transferred more than 27,000 bombs to Israel. Although there was a pause of one shipment of MK-84 2,000 pound bombs, no significant change in the supply of the bombs happened since October.
Investigative reports by The New York Times and CNN have shown that the MK-84 bombs have been responsible to some of the deadliest attacks against Gaza civilians. Unlike the detailed information released for the shipment of weapons to Ukraine, the US government has revealed few details about the munitions sent to Israel. The bombs are provided from US's own stockpiles and the manufacture of new bombs was ordered from Boeing and General Dynamics.
Attacks during the Gaza war
Medical facilities
Health officials and medical organizations in the Gaza Strip accused Israel of deliberately bombing ambulances and health facilities in the besieged enclave. And said that these attacks are considered a violation of international laws that include such attacks in the list of war crimes. The attacks on healthcare facilities contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused Hamas of military operations inside hospitals, including alleged attacks on soldiers, weapon storage, fighters taking shelter, providing support for underground tunnels, human shielding, and holding hostages. Many of these claims, however, have been debunked under scrutiny from journalists.
By April 2024, 30 out of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip had been bombed, according to Save the Children and UNICEF. Israeli airstrikes on medical facilities include the bombing the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the Nasser Medical Complex, a medical convoy at al-Shifa hospital, and the areas around the Al Shifa and Al Quds hospitals.
Refugee camps
In the Gaza war, as part of the bombing and invasion of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes in densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
On 23 October 2023, airstrikes killed 436 people in the Al-Shati camp and southern Khan Younis in one night. By 28 October 2023, the IDF bombed residential buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp without any prior warning, killing an estimated 50 people per hour. On 31 October 2023, an airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp was described as a "massive massacre". On 13 November, an Israeli airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp killed 30 people, with Gaza's civil defence team unable to rescue injured people from the rubble due to a lack of equipment. By 6 March 2024, aerial footage showed that the Al-Shati refugee camp, which had been one of the world's most densely populated areas before the war, was in complete ruins.
Schools
According to UNOCHA, 87% of schools in Gaza were hit or damaged between October 2023 and 2024. Similarly, The Intercept reported that 85% of the schools in Gaza had been bombed by October 2024. By March 2024, the United Nations had recorded 212 "direct hits" on schools in Gaza by Israeli bombardment, with at least 53 schools totally destroyed.
An airstrike at a UNRWA school killed at least six people. On 18 October 2023, the Ahmed Abdel Aziz School in Khan Yunis was hit. On 3 November 2023, the IDF bombed the Osama Ben Zaid school. On 4 November 2023, Israel bombed the Al-Fakhoora school, killing at least 15 people. On 5 November 2023, Israel bombed and destroyed Al-Azhar University.
On 17 November 2023, dozens were reported killed after an airstrike on al-Falah School in the Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City. A strike on the Al-Fakhoora school reportedly killed at least 50. Deaf, blind, and intellectually handicapped individuals were at particular risk of death by airstrikes. On 13 December 2023, a UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. On 10 August 2024, more than 100 Palestinians died in rocket attacks on Al-Tabaeen school.
Housing and infrastructure
On 16 October 2023, Israeli airstrikes destroyed a UNRWA humanitarian aid supply depot. The same day, airstrikes destroyed the headquarters of the Palestinian Civil Defence, an agency responsible for emergency response services, including firefighting and search and rescue. Journalists reported Israel was targeting solar panels and personal generators. On 15 November 2023, Gaza's last remaining flour mill was hit by an Israeli airstrike.
On 12 November 2023, Israel used earthquake bombs on an apartment complex in Khan Yunis, killing at least 13 people. Twenty-six people were killed in an airstrike of a residential building in southern Gaza on 18 November. By 28 November 2023, a United Nations (UN)-led consortium estimated 60% of all housing in Gaza had been destroyed. Numerous casualties were reported in an airstrike on a residential building near Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, with hospital staff reporting having to bury 40 bodies on the hospital grounds. On 4 February 2024, two residential towers in Rafah were bombed, part of a series of strikes killing 127 people. 104 people were killed between 21 and 23 February 2024 in residential building airstrikes conducted without prior warning. In March 2024, a man in Gaza City described the situation there, stating, "Destruction on a massive scale, beyond any description. Our homes were destroyed. Nothing remained of our property".
In March 2024, a joint report by the EU, World Bank, and UN estimated 57% of water infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. Sewage overflowed as a result of the infrastructural damage. In May 2024, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology stated that 75% of Gaza's telecoms towers had been rendered inoperable by Israeli attacks. In June 2024, UNOSAT said that 57% of Gaza's agricultural land had been degraded by conflict.
Places of worship
On 19 October 2023, an Israeli airstrike hit the Church of Saint Porphyrius, where 500 people were sheltering. On 8 November 2023, Israel bombed and destroyed the Khalid bin al-Walid Mosque. By 13 November 2023, at least 60 mosques had been destroyed by Israeli bombs. In December 2023, an Israeli bombing destroyed the Great Mosque of Gaza. At least seven people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Rafah mosque full of displaced people on 23 February 2024. Five people were killed in a mosque in northern Gaza that was bombed without warning. The al-Riad mosque in Khan Younis was heavily damaged by an Israeli bombing on 9 March 2024.
By 10 March 2024, more than 1,000 mosques had been destroyed by Israeli attacks. In May 2024, an Israeli bombing on a mosque in Gaza City reportedly killed at least 10 people.
Safe zones
On 17 October 2023, Israel conducted intensive airstrikes in southern Gaza, in areas it told residents to seek refuge. Israel "pounded" areas in south Gaza it had declared as "safe zones", raising fears amongst residents that nowhere was safe. On 20 October 2023, Israeli continued to bombard south Gaza, and IDF spokesman Nir Dinar said, "There are no safe zones". Following Israel's evacuation orders for Palestinians to flee northern Gaza, the IDF intensified its attacks on southern Gaza.
Analyses by CNN, The New York Times, and Sky News all found that Israel had bombed areas it had previously told civilians to evacuate to. The Sky News investigation also concluded that Israel's evacuation orders had been "chaotic and contradictory", NYT found that Israel had dropped 2,000-pound bombs in those areas, while CNN stated it had verified at least three locations Israel bombed after telling civilians it was safe to go there.
On 5 January 2024, evacuees fleeing Israeli attacks in central Gaza stated the situation there was "hell on Earth". One survivor of an Israeli airstrike wrote, "Even though that air strike did not kill us, it destroyed something inside us." On 12 January, the UN Secretary-General for Human Rights stated that at least 319 internally displaced persons were killed and 1,135 injured by Israeli airstrikes while sheltering in UN shelters. After an Israeli bomb killed two sheltering in a tent in Deir el-Balah on 23 February 2024, a surviving family member stated, "It's just a tent. They are displaced and evacuated from the north here to seek refuge. They were sleeping. Why were they attacked? Even in tents, we are not safe." After a bombing on tents in Rafah killed 11 people, Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated it was "outrageous and unspeakable".
Casualties
More than 73,000 Palestinians have been reported killed by the Gaza Health Ministry. According to a January 2025 analysis in The Lancet, it is likely that the death toll due to traumatic injury that time exceeded 70,000. Of this total, it was estimated that 59.1% were women, children and the elderly, and researchers have estimated a civilian death toll of at least 80%.
Missing persons
On 11 February 2026, roughly 8,000 people were reported missing beneath rubble. On 27 October 2023, the World Health Organization stated more than 1,000 unidentified people were buried under rubble. On 3 December 2023, the Palestinian Civil Defence stated the situation "beyond dire" as the organization was unable to rescue many people buried under rubble.
Individuals were rescued by aid workers after reportedly surviving several days buried underneath rubble. Emergency responders stated that part of what made rescue so difficult is that Israeli bombs tend to "flatten entire buildings". On 24 February 2024, Dr. Paul B. Spiegel stated that total death counts were undercounts due to the large number of people under rubble, stating, "We projected the number of deaths that may be missing, and it was probably up to about ten to fifteen per cent more." On 26 February 2024, Israeli warplanes bombed and destroyed an emergency rescue machinery in Beit Lahia.