The Gaza war that erupted last year after the October 7 attack by Hamas – which left over 1,000 dead and 250 hostage – has left a trail of carnage in its wake.

Israel has killed more than 40,000 Gazans. Large swathes of Gaza have been reduced to rubble. And the shortages of food and water amid Israeli army restrictions are so severe that the UN has said that Israel may be using starvation as a weapon of war.

But the Israeli government and its army have claimed that they are fighting a moral war.

In this episode of our three-part mini-series Gaza: One Year Later, Sreenivasan Jain reports from ground zero to put Israel’s claim to test. Jain speaks to Palestinian journalists – the only source of information for the outside world – who challenge Israel’s claims.

Avi Dichter, a Netanyahu cabinet minister and former Shin Bet chief, asserts that there is “no fair play” and the war “could go on for years” while ordinary Israelis have their own doubts about why Prime Minister Netanyahu – beset by corruption charges – is prolonging the violence.

Watch.