The United Nations said on Monday that two-thirds of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Updating its damage assessment, the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) said very high-resolution imagery collected on 3 and 6 September showed clear degradation.
“This analysis…shows that two-thirds of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been damaged,” UNOSAT said.
“A total of 163,778 structures constitute 66 percent of the damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip,” it said.
The final assessment, based on images from early July, determined that 63 percent of structures in the Palestinian Territory were damaged.
Monday’s update said damage now included “52,564 structures destroyed; 18,913 severely damaged; 35,591 possibly damaged structures; and 56,710 moderately affected”.
It said Gaza City was particularly affected and 36,611 structures were destroyed.
UNOSAT and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said about 68 percent of permanent crop areas in the Gaza Strip saw “significant declines in health and density” in September.
Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 killed 1,205 people, mostly civilians, including hostages killed in captivity, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israeli retaliatory military strikes have killed at least 41,615 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.
Geneva-based UNOSAT, part of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), says its satellite imagery analysis helps the humanitarian community assess the extent of conflict-related damage and shape emergency relief efforts.
“Over the past year, the UNOSAT team has worked tirelessly to provide the world with accurate and timely information about the impact of the conflict on buildings and infrastructure in Gaza,” said Nikhil Seth, UNITAR Executive Director.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)