House damage in the Gaza Strip is increasing rapidly
Published: Thursday, Mar 21st 2024, 13:00
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According to the UN, the damage to houses in the Gaza Strip is increasing rapidly. Since the beginning of January, around 9,000 buildings have been completely destroyed, almost 3,000 severely damaged and around 8,000 slightly damaged, the UN Satellite Center (Unosat) reported in Geneva on Thursday.
Since the beginning of the year, there has been particularly heavy destruction in the districts of Chan Junis and Gaza,
According to these figures, more than 31,000 buildings had been destroyed as a result of the war in the Gaza Strip by the end of February. In addition, a further 17,000 buildings had been severely damaged and almost 41,000 slightly damaged. Together, 35 percent of all buildings or 121,400 residential units were affected (at the beginning of January: 30 percent and around 94,000 apartments).
In its latest analysis, Unosat refers to satellite images from February 29, 2024, which were compared with images from May, September, October and November 2023 as well as from the beginning of January 2024.
Unosat is part of the UN Institute for Training and Research (Unitar). It supports all UN organizations and UN member states with the analysis of satellite images as required.
According to Israel, it only wants to destroy the infrastructure of extremist groups, not civilian facilities. One of Israel's accusations is that terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups use hospitals, schools, mosques and residential buildings to operate from or as hiding places and weapons caches.
The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations on 7 October in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. In view of the high number of civilian casualties, the destruction and the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel is coming under increasing international criticism.
©Keystone/SDA
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