Almost a month after Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, life in the Palestinian territory is becoming increasingly difficult. The United Nations estimates that almost a quarter of Gaza's 1.7 million residents have been displaced by the fighting, and all residents are struggling with power outages and a lack of basic supplies.

Restricted border zones A 2km area on the outside of the border fence separating Israel and Gaza is a no-go zone for Israeli civilians. Communities contained in a 3km-deep zone on the inside received evacuation warnings. This area covers 44 percent of the Gaza Strip and contains homes of about 250,000 people. Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood and the city of Beit Hanoun, which lie inside the 3km zone, have been bombarded heavily.

Beit Hanoun July 6 July 25 Shijaiyah July 6 July 25

Refugee camps and shelters The U.N. Relief and Works Agency is struggling to accommodate the deluge of Palestinians displaced by the buffer zones in shelters, a number of which lie within refugee camps. A U.N.-run school being used as a shelter in the Jabalya Refugee Camp was hit by artillery shells, killing at least 20 people.

July 30 | A child looks through the wreckage of a classroom after artillery shells struck a school run by the U.N. refugee agency that housed thousands of refugees. (Max Becherer/Polaris Images For The Washington Post)

Tunnels According to the Israel Defense Forces, more than 30 tunnels have been found. One map released showed the routes of six tunnels east of Gaza City, some more than two miles long, reaching beyond the 2km buffer zone inside Israel, and sometimes near or into Israeli settlements. The tunnels have been used on multiple occasions to attack Israeli military units.

March 27 | The entrance to a tunnel exposed by the Israeli military is seen on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border. The Israel Defense Forces announced that they exposed the tunnel on March 21, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Casualties in the conflict Casualties by day So far, the deadliest day in the conflict has been July 26, with 188 deaths. Cumulative casualties Palestinian civilians make up the overwhelming majority of casualties, while so far, three Israeli civilians have been killed.

Gaza's demographics Population growth in millions of people by governorate According to the United Nations, by 2020 the population of Gaza will be around 2.1 million. This will add some 400,000 people to an already confined and heavily urbanized region. Electricity, water, sanitation and social services were struggling to keep pace with needs even before the current conflict. The people of Gaza remain worse off than they were in the 1990s. Unemployment is high and affects women and youths in particular. The unemployment rate for women was 47 percent during the first quarter of 2012. It was 58 percent for people ages 20 to 24. Almost 75 percent of the population of Gaza is under 29 years old. Labor force Population by gender in thousands (2013) Gaza is an urban economy, reliant on intensive trade, communication and movement of people. Real GDP per capita Trade in billions of dollars

Timeline of the conflict

SOURCES: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Israel Defense Forces.

CORRECTION: This graphic has been updated to accurately depict the 2 km civilian safety zone within Israel. The previous version only extended 1.5 km.