360,000 buildings damaged or destroyed in Gaza Strip: ESCWA

ANKARA

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) said Wednesday that 360,000 buildings in the Gaza Strip have been partially damaged or destroyed amid Israel’s war against Hamas.

ESCWA published a report compiling data from various institutions and organizations regarding the physical damage caused by Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip to buildings and infrastructure.

The report included data from different periods provided by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) and the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center and Oregon State University.

The report said that 2% of the population in the Gaza Strip was killed, 4% were injured and almost the entire population was displaced.

The damage caused by the attacks ongoing since Oct. 7, 2023 in the Gaza Strip was unprecedented in scale, it pointed out.

-Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

According to the data from PCBS dated April 28, 2024, infrastructure in the Gaza Strip suffered significant damage. More than 50% of the buildings were destroyed and 360,000 structures in Gaza were partially damaged or destroyed.

Another 25,000 buildings in the Gaza Strip suffered severe damage or were destroyed and 305 schools or universities were destroyed, with 100 of them being demolished.

According to data indicating significant damage to health care facilities, 32 hospitals were rendered non-operational. 25 hospitals were damaged due to missile attacks and 649 health care facilities were affected.

Three churches and 290 mosques were destroyed, while 168 public buildings were damaged.

The agriculture sector, which plays a significant role in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Gaza Strip, contributed approximately 11% to the GDP in 2022 and provided significant employment opportunities.

The report noted that agriculture covered nearly half of Gaza's area and estimated daily losses at $1.6 million due to halted production. The total loss surpassed $180 million with the destruction of agricultural properties.

-UNOSAT

A total of 123,706 damaged structures were identified in the Gaza Strip on April 19, according to satellite data from UNOSAT.

More than 34,000 of these structures were destroyed, over 17,000 suffered severe damage, and damage occurred in more than 128,000 homes.

-CUNY Graduate Center and Oregon State University

According to data obtained from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite of the European Space Agency by researchers from the CUNY Graduate Center and Oregon State University, between 138,000 and 172,000 buildings in Gaza were likely destroyed or damaged by Jan. 9.

This accounts for approximately 48% to 59.8% of the buildings in the Gaza Strip.

In terms of regions, between 68% to 80.8% of the buildings in northern Gaza, 71.6% to 83.5% in Gaza City, 35.2% to 45.8% in Deir al-Balah, 42.8% to 55.6% in Khan Younis and 21% to 31.3% in Rafah were likely destroyed or damaged.

The report highlighted the collaboration among ESCWA, PCBS, UNOSAT and Oregon State University to improve satellite imagery utilization and analysis methods for building damage assessments. It also emphasized the importance of using field-verified geographical data through joint efforts.