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Numbers alone cannot capture the toll the Israel-Hamas war has taken on the Gaza Strip.

But they can help us understand how thoroughly the conflict has upended the lives of 2.1 million Palestinians living in the territory and decimated the territory's 365 square kilometers (140 square miles).

Out of every 10 people, one has been killed or injured in an Israeli strike. Nine are displaced. At least three have not eaten for days. Out of every 100 children, four have lost either one or both parents. Out of every 10 buildings that stood in Gaza prewar, eight are either damaged or flattened. Out of every 10 homes, nine are wrecked. Out of every 10 acres of cropland, eight are razed (more than three out of every four hectares).

The war began when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.

In response, Israeli leaders promised a punishing offensive on the strip to annihilate Hamas and free the hostages.

Here's a closer look at the devastation that followed, by the numbers.

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Israeli and Hamas officials launched indirect talks Monday at an Egyptian resort on a U.S.-drafted peace plan to end the ruinous war in Gaza on the eve of its second anniversary.

Many uncertainties remain about the plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump last week, including the disarmament of the militant group — a key Israeli demand — and the future governance of Gaza. Trump has indicated an agreement on Gaza could pave the way for a Middle East peace process that could reshape the region.

Despite Trump ordering Israel to stop the bombing, Israel continued to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing at least 19 people in the last 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said.

An Egyptian official said talks began at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Monday afternoon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.

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Long-range Ukrainian drones and missiles hit a major Russian ammunition plant, a key oil terminal and an important weapons depot behind the front line, Ukraine's president and military said Monday, as Kyiv cranked up pressure on Moscow’s military logistics.

The Sverdlov ammunition plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region of western Russia was struck overnight, causing multiple explosions and a fire, the Ukrainian General Staff said. The plant supplies Russian forces with aviation and artillery ordnance, aviation bombs and anti-aircraft and anti-tank munitions, it said.

Ukraine also hit an oil terminal on the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, starting a blaze, and an ammunition depot of Russia’s 18th Combined Arms Army, the General Staff said.

Russian authorities acknowledged a major Ukrainian drone attack over 14 regions, as well as Crimea and around the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. But they gave few details beyond saying that air defenses shot down 251 Ukrainian drones — making it one of the biggest Ukrainian barrages of Russian territory since the war began on Feb. 24, 2022.

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Two years after the Hamas atrocities of 7 October 2023, in which militants killed about 1,200 Israelis, and amid the genocide in Gaza, in which Israel has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, the need for peace has never been more urgent.

Palestinians are desperate for an end to starvation and airstrikes. Israelis want the war to end for the sake of remaining hostages and soldiers. Violence has reverberated across the region. Momentum has been growing around Donald Trump’s proposal, with both Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas grudgingly indicating acceptance under US threat.

With indirect talks between Israel and Hamas beginning in in Egypt on Monday afternoon, there are frail hopes of progress at last. Yet both parties have made it clear that they reject major parts of the 20-point US plan, which begins with an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages – followed by the release of Palestinian prisoners – and the resumption of full aid.

For Netanyahu, perpetual war in Gaza and beyond extends his political survival. His far-right coalition partners want to expel Palestinians and settle Gaza. Hamas has no desire to sign itself out of existence, and handing back the last hostages would remove any leverage it retains. It has seen much of its leadership destroyed, as well as life in Gaza – but has also watched international public opinion shift unprecedentedly towards support for Palestinians, pulling governments in its wake. It can recruit from a huge pool of angry and traumatised young men.Egypt on Monday afternoon, there are frail hopes of progress at last. Yet both parties have made it clear that they reject major parts of the 20-point US plan, which begins with an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages – followed by the release of Palestinian prisoners – and the resumption of full aid.

For Netanyahu, perpetual war in Gaza and beyond extends his political survival. His far-right coalition partners want to expel Palestinians and settle Gaza. Hamas has no desire to sign itself out of existence, and handing back the last hostages would remove any leverage it retains. It has seen much of its leadership destroyed, as well as life in Gaza – but has also watched international public opinion shift unprecedentedly towards support for Palestinians, pulling governments in its wake. It can recruit from a huge pool of angry and traumatised young men.

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Israel continued the bombardment of Gaza as negotiators arrived in Cairo before talks on Monday. The negotiations will mainly focus on US President Donald Trump's peace proposal, which entails the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, which is inching closer to the two-year mark.

While the hopes for the war to end get stronger, Israel continued strikes on the Palestinian coastal enclave, killing 63 people in the last 24 hours, The Guardian reported. Meanwhile, the Egyptian foreign ministry said that the talks on Monday would focus on the first phase of Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.

The release of the remaining 48 hostages held by Hamas is expected to be the primary concern of the talks. The Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told journalists that talks in Egypt would be “confined to a few days maximum” Later on Sunday, Trump said that the talks in Cairo are advancing “rapidly” and the first phase “should be completed this week.”

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Syria is holding parliamentary elections on Sunday forthe first time since the fall of the country's longtime autocratic leader, Bashar Assad, who was unseated in a rebel offensive in December.

Under the 50-year rule of the Assad dynasty, Syria held regular elections in which all Syrian citizens could vote. But in practice, the Assad-led Baath Party always dominated the parliament, and the votes were widely regarded as sham elections.

Outside election analysts said the only truly competitive part of the process came before election day — with the internal primary system in the Baath Party, when party members jockeyed for positions on the list.

The elections to be held on Sunday, however, will not be a fully democratic process either. Rather, most of the People's Assembly seats will be voted on by electoral colleges in each district, while one-third of the seats will be directly appointed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

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