Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli offensive has caused a level of destruction “unprecedented in recent history”, according to the UN. Israel must still approve a ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory announced on Wednesday.
More than 170,000 buildings damaged or destroyed
According to the latest damage assessment from the UN Satellite Center (Unosat), as of December 1, approximately 69% of buildings were damaged or destroyed in the Gaza Strip, or 170,812 in total.
American researchers Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, also based on satellite analyses, but using a different methodology, counted 172,015 buildings on January 11, 2025, which for them is equivalent to 59.8% of the buildings in the strip from Gaza.
Since October 7, 2023 and the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas on Israeli soil, which led to the death on the Israeli side of 1,210 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army relentlessly shells this cramped, densely built territory of 365 square kilometers.
The Israeli military campaign of retaliation on the Gaza Strip has so far left at least 46,788 dead, the majority civilians, according to data from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.
Rafah half destroyed
According to satellite analyzes by American researchers, in the north, the city of Gaza, which had 600,000 inhabitants before the war, saw almost three quarters (74.2%) of its buildings affected.
In Rafah, in the far south, the least damaged major city in the Gaza Strip, 48.7% of buildings were affected (compared to 33.9% in April). The facades of buildings and houses in this town on the border with Egypt, where Israeli troops have been engaged on the ground since the beginning of May, are gutted or completely destroyed.
According to Amnesty International, on 58 km2 along the border of the Palestinian territory with Israel, more than 90% of buildings appear to have been “destroyed or seriously damaged” between October 2023 and May 2024.
The United Nations has estimated that rebuilding the territory would take up to 15 years and cost more than 50 billion euros.
One hospital in two “partially” operational
Hospitals are often targeted by the Israeli army, which accuses Hamas fighters of using them as bases for shelter or to launch attacks. Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few functioning medical facilities in the northern Gaza Strip, has been “empty” and “out of service,” according to WHO, since a major raid in late December.
Only a maximum of 18 of the 36 hospitals (50%) are “partially” operational, according to the WHO, with a total capacity of 1,800 beds. The health system is “on the verge of total collapse,” the UN warned on December 31.
For places of worship, by combining data from Unosat and the international OpenStreetMap database (collaborative and open data), it appears that 83% of mosques were damaged or destroyed.
Nearly 90% of schools damaged
School buildings, which serve as refuge for displaced people, particularly those on which the UN blue flag flies, are also paying a heavy price, with the Israeli army accusing Hamas of using them to hide fighters.
As of December 1, UNICEF counted at least 496 schools damaged, or nearly 88% of the 564 establishments listed. Among them, 396 were directly affected.
68% of agricultural areas
According to images from the UN satellite center, dating from September 26, 2024, 68% of agricultural areas were damaged, or 103 km2. In the governorate of North Gaza, 79%, and in that of Rafah, 57%.
The destruction of agricultural assets (including irrigation systems, livestock farms, orchards, machinery and storage facilities) is even greater with between 80 and 96% “decimated” by the start of the year 2024, according to a report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development published in September.
The road network is 68% damaged with a total of 1,190 km of roads destroyed, 415 km severely damaged and 1,440 km moderately damaged, according to a “preliminary analysis” by Unosat on data as of August 18.
In December, the UN stressed that “the speed and scale of the killings and destruction in the Gaza Strip are unprecedented in recent history.”
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