The devastation by 77 years of Israeli Nakba on Palestinians—the history of death, displacement, and ongoing suffering faced by millions.
What Has 77 Years of Israeli Nakba Done to Palestinians?
The 77th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba is being marked this year amid Israel’s devastating war in the Gaza Strip, which so far has left thousands dead and injured, and more than 7 million displaced.
On May 15, 2025, Palestinians commemorated the 77th anniversary of the “Nakba” in the midst of Israel’s destructive war against the Gaza Strip.
“Nakba” is a term Palestinians use to refer to May 15, 1948—the day the global Zionist movement declared the establishment of “Israel” on most of their country, Palestine.
According to official reports from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, The number of the Palestinian and Arab martyrs killed since the Nakba in 1948 and until this day (inside and outside Palestine) reached more than 154 thousand martyrs. Moreover, the number of martyrs killed in Al-Aqsa Intifada during September 29th, 2000 – May 08th, 2025 was about 64.5 thousand. The number of martyrs in Palestine since the start of the Israeli occupation aggression against Gaza Strip during October 7th, 2023 – May 08th, 2025 reached more than 52.6 thousand martyrs; more than 18 thousand children and more than 12 thousand women, in addition to more than 211 journalists were martyred (representing 34% of the total number of martyrs since the Nakba). In addition, there were more than 125 thousand wounded individuals according to the records of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza Strip. In addition, more than 11 thousand citizens, most of whom were women and children, were gone missing. While the number of martyrs reached 964 in the West Bank since the start of the Israeli occupation aggression on October 7th, 2023.
Every year on May 15, Palestinians commemorate Nakba Day with marches, events, and exhibitions both in the occupied territories and across the world.
This year’s Nakba anniversary coincides with Israel’s devastating war on Gaza and its raids on the West Bank, particularly on camps in the northern West Bank.
Establishment of Israel
On the night of May 14, 1948, the global Zionist movement declared the establishment of “Israel” on Palestinian soil, with the United States being the first country to recognize it.
Palestinians make no distinction between the Nakba and the Balfour Declaration—the statement issued by Britain on November 2, 1917, which announced the “Zionist plan” to establish a Jewish national homeland in Palestine, thus laying the groundwork for the Palestinian Nakba on May 15, 1948.
Less than two decades later, Israel occupied the remaining parts of Palestine, particularly the West Bank, including areas of East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, as well as parts of Arab countries like Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.
Nakba in Numbers
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the events of the Nakba and the subsequent displacement of an entire nation paved the way for criminal groups and scattered individuals from all over the world to replace them—a profound and bitter tragedy for Palestinians.
The Bureau’s latest report states that the Nakba in 1948 led to the displacement of more than one million Palestinians out of a total of 1.4 million who lived in 1,300 cities and villages, forcing them to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and neighboring Arab countries. This is in addition to the internal displacement of thousands of Palestinians within Palestine itself, causing them to migrate from one area to another due to Zionist occupation.
At that time, Israel occupied 774 Palestinian cities and villages, completely destroying 531 of them, while the rest were either occupied by Israelis or subjected to Israeli laws.
The report states that the process of ethnic cleansing in Palestinian areas was accompanied by more than 70 massacres by Zionist groups, resulting in the deaths of more than 15,000 Palestinians.
During the Nakba, Israel was established on over 85% of the area of Palestine, about 27,000 square kilometers.
The report explains that since the Nakba of 1948, over 134,000 Palestinians and Arabs have been killed in Palestine. Furthermore, since the Nakba of 1967, about one million Palestinians have been detained and arrested.
Tenfold Increase in Palestinian Population
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics notes, “The global Palestinian population reached 14,630,000 by the end of 2023,” adding, “The population has increased nearly tenfold since the Nakba of 1948 to the end of 2023.”
According to the report, Palestinian distribution worldwide is as follows: 5.5 million in the occupied territories (including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza), about 1.75 million in 1948 territories (Israel), 6.56 million in Arab countries, and about 772,000 in Western countries.
Within the occupied territories, “3.2 million are in the West Bank, 477,000 in East Jerusalem, 2.1 million in Gaza, and the remainder live outside the occupied territories.”
The statistical report adds: “Palestinians make up about 49.9% of the population in the occupied territories, while Jews comprise 50.1%, but control over 85% of the total area of historic Palestine.
Based on this, the Palestinian population in the occupied territories is about 7.3 million, while the Jewish population by the end of 2023 is estimated at 7.2 million.
Regarding population density, the report states that by the end of 2023, the density in the West Bank reached 582 persons per square kilometer, and in Gaza, 6,185 persons per square kilometer.
Settlements and Arrests
Since the Nakba of 1948, Israel’s policies of arrest and detention of Palestinians have continued unabated. Official statistics indicate that since 1967, over one million Palestinians have been detained, and currently about 9,400 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons.
In terms of settlement activity, official reports state that “the number of Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank reached 483 by the end of 2022, including 314 settlements, 25 residential areas, and 144 industrial, tourist, service, or military centers.”
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics also reported that the number of settlers in the West Bank at the end of 2022 was 745,467, most of whom (336,272) reside in Jerusalem.
Continuous War
This year’s Nakba anniversary is marked as the Israeli army continues its devastating war against the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023—a war that has killed and injured tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of whom are children and women. The war has also left about 10,000 missing amid the destruction, while displacement, famine, hunger, and lack of healthcare have claimed the lives of hundreds of children and the elderly, threatening thousands more.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reports: “In this war, Israel has so far completely destroyed over 31,000 buildings, severely damaged about 17,000 more, and moderately damaged 41,000. The direct damage to the Gaza Strip from the current Israeli war is estimated at over $30 billion.”
In parallel with the war on Gaza, the Israeli army has intensified its operations in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since October 7, 498 Palestinians have been killed, about 5,000 wounded, and thousands more arrested.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics emphasizes that in 2024, Israel demolished more than 384,000 housing units in Gaza, 156,423 buildings and issued demolition orders for 1,333 more under the pretext of lacking permits.