Israel has imposed a “complete siege” on Gaza, bombing it from the land, sea and air and cutting off power, food and water to the territory’s 2.3 million inhabitants. The war was launched in retaliation for the 7 October attack by Hamas militants, in which gunmen killed 1,400 when they stormed military posts, massacred civilians in their homes and took nearly 200 hostages. Israel’s war in Gaza – the fifth since 2007 – has quickly become the most fatal, with more than 3,785 Palestinians killed and 12,500 wounded. Residents there were already trapped. Israel and Egypt, Gaza’s other neighbour, have maintained a crippling blockade on the 25-mile-long area for 16 years. The UN says the blockade constitutes collective punishment, which is a war crime. This annotated, composite image of the Gaza strip before the conflict began shows some of the worst-affected areas within the fenced-off territory and describes some of the challenges facing its population.