GENEVA: About two-thirds of the civilian buildings in the Gaza Strip have been completely destroyed or partially damaged since the Gaza war started in October, the United Nations said in a statement. “UNOSAT’s latest damage building valuation, based on satellite imagery shows that around 151,265 structures have been affected due to war in Gaza,” the UN Satellite Center stated.
The UN agency said that of these, around 30 percent were completely damaged while 12 percent severely affected. It added that 36 percent moderately dented, while 20 percent possibly damaged, representing about 63 percent of the total structures in the Gaza strip.”
The valuation compared images from May 2023 onward with photos from July 6 this year. The UN agency reported that the impact on civilian infrastructure is solid evident, with thousands of houses and essential facilities being destroyed.
According to UNOSAT the total debris in Gaza generated by the conflict amounts to about 41.95 million metric tonnes. The figure is up 83 percent from the about 23 million tonnes estimated on January 7.
The war has resulted in 14 times more wreckage than the combined total from all earlier conflicts in the Gaza since 2008, UNOSAT observed.
The agency also estimated that around 114 kg of wreckage was generated for each square meter in the Strip. Geneva-based UNOSAT further says its satellite imagery-based analysis assists the humanitarian community assess the extent of war-related damage and helps shape emergency relief activities.
