In Images | How Gaza is on the verge of total destruction

“They are breaking us,” said a man in the Gaza Strip as Israel pounds the conclave in retaliation for Hamas’ attacks on Saturday over the weekend. Residents say the heavy bombardment is part of Israel’s most intense bombing campaign in recent memory. At last count, the health ministry in the Gaza Strip said Israeli attacks have killed 1,055 Palestinians and wounded 5,184. And it seems that the strikes aren’t sparing anyone – children, women, teachers, United Nation aid workers and even journalists have died in the airstrikes. What will happen next in Gaza is anyone’s guess. But for now the area smells of death and destruction. [caption id=“attachment_13235332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] (Please note: This image may offend or disturb) A Palestinian boy sits shell-shocked after being wounded in Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip. The airstrikes have been punishing, killing thousands of people. The Ministry of Health said earlier that nearly 60 per cent of the injured people in Gaza were women and children. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13235352” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A view shows houses and buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza City. The Rimal neighbourhood, once the beating heart of the Gaza Strip, has been nearly wiped out in the four days of intense Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13235382” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A view of the rubble of buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Jabalia, Gaza strip. The entire Gaza Strip resembles a ghost town with empty streets. Most of the people living there are hiding in basement shelters. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13235412” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. On Wednesday, the Israeli air force confirmed that the Islamic University in Gaza City had been destroyed. The air force said they attacked the university because it “serves as a major training centre for Hamas engineers,” and is “an important centre of political and military power”. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13235422” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Palestinians evacuate the wounded following an Israeli aerial bombing on Jabaliya, near Gaza City. Hospitals in the area have been overwhelmed with patients. A British surgeon working at the Al-Shifa hospital said: “It’s like a tsunami of wounded people." AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13235462” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Palestinians evacuate wounded in Israeli aerial bombing. Doctors Without Borders operating in the area said that hospitals are overwhelmed and medical teams are exhausted. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13235482” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A relative reacts next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at a hospital in Gaza City. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13235502” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A dove flies over the debris of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Will peace return to the region? Will the people of Gaza be able to rebuild their lives? Reuters[/caption]