Tuesday, October 01, 2024 - Two-thirds of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed since the onset of the Gaza war in October 2023, according to a report released by the United Nations on Monday, September 30.
The UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) updated its assessment,
based on high-resolution satellite imagery collected in early September,
revealing a significant escalation in destruction.
UNOSAT reported that approximately 66% of all structures in
the Gaza Strip—totalling 163,778 buildings—have sustained damage. The breakdown
of the damage includes 52,564 destroyed buildings, 18,913 severely damaged
structures, and an additional 35,591 possibly damaged, while 56,710 have been
moderately affected.
Gaza City has seen particularly severe destruction, with
36,611 buildings completely wiped out. The UN’s analysis also found that around
68% of permanent crop fields in the territory experienced a sharp decline in
health and density as of September, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
The war was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on October
7, which claimed the lives of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to
Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory strikes on Gaza have resulted in
the deaths of at least 41,615 people, the majority of whom were civilians,
according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The UN has described these casualty
figures as reliable.
The UNOSAT team has been instrumental in providing critical
insights into the conflict’s impact on Gaza’s buildings and infrastructure,
assisting humanitarian agencies in shaping emergency relief efforts. "Over
the past year, UNOSAT’s team has worked tirelessly to provide the world with
precise and timely insights into the impact of the conflict on buildings and
infrastructure in Gaza,” said UNITAR's Executive Director, Nikhil Seth.
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