The Engineering of Ruin: The Intentional Dismantling of Gaza
The Weaponization of Sanitation and Nutrition as a Strategy to Undermine the Survival of Palestinian Society
By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
With the devastation and displacement of civilians in southern Lebanon by fierce bombing and military invasion with tanks and equipment, there has been less attention on Palestinians suffering in Gaza. I asked Alter AI for a status report.
🏗️ Development of Gaza from 1948 to 2023
The transformation of the Gaza Strip into a densely populated enclave of displaced Arabs began primarily during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. An estimated 700,000 to 750,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in what became the new State of Israel.
The Gaza Strip, which had been a relatively small coastal region, saw its population swell dramatically as tens of thousands of refugees sought safety within its borders. By the conclusion of the 1949 Armistice Agreements, approximately 25% of the total Palestinian Arab population was concentrated in Gaza, a territory representing only about 1% of the land area of former Palestine.
This demographic shift established Gaza as a primary destination for those uprooted during the Nakba (the “Catastrophe”). Throughout the subsequent decades, particularly following the 1967 Six-Day War and the onset of Israel’s military occupation, the area remained a focal point for the Palestinian refugee population, with subsequent generations continuing to reside there under restrictive conditions that have shaped the socio-economic and political trajectory of the territory to the present day.
