Paris:
The war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, which agreed to a ceasefire on Wednesday, has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a humanitarian disaster.
The fragile ceasefire is due to take effect on Sunday but must still be approved by the Israeli cabinet.
The sheer scale of the bombings and the violence of the fighting have disfigured the urban landscape of the densely populated Palestinian territory.
AFP looks at the material impact of the war.
170,000 buildings damaged or destroyed
Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on earth. Before the war, 2.4 million people lived on a 365 square kilometer strip of land.
As of December 1, 2024, nearly 69 percent of Gaza’s buildings had been destroyed or damaged, according to satellite images analyzed by the UN Satellite Center (UNOSAT). That amounts to 170,812 buildings.
American researchers Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, using satellite images with different methodologies, counted 172,015 damaged or destroyed buildings in Gaza as of January 11, 2025.
Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
That figure also includes hostages who died while in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
At least 46,788 Palestinians, most of whom are civilians, have been killed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to Health Ministry data in the Hamas-administered area.
These figures are recognized as reliable by the UN.
The city of Rafah is half destroyed
Before the war, Gaza City, in the north of the territory, was home to some 600,000 people. Nearly three-quarters of the buildings (74.2 percent) are damaged or destroyed.
In Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city along the border with Egypt, the Israeli army launched a ground offensive in early May.
By the end of that month, almost 48.7 percent of buildings in Rafah had been affected, up from 33.9 percent the month before.
Although relatively spared compared to Gaza City, burned facades and buildings testify to the scars of the war.
Rights group Amnesty International said more than 90 percent of buildings along 58 square kilometers of Gaza’s border area with Israel appear to have been “destroyed or seriously damaged” between October 2023 and May 2024.
The United Nations estimates that rebuilding the area would take 15 years and cost as much as $50 billion.
Half of the hospitals are not functioning
During the war, Gaza’s hospitals have been repeatedly attacked by Israel, which accused Hamas of using them for military purposes, an accusation the group denies.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few medical facilities still operational in northern Gaza, is now empty and out of use since a major Israeli attack in late December, the World Health Organization said.
As of December 31, only 18 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, or half, were partially functioning, with a total capacity of 1,800 beds, according to the WHO.
Data from UNOSAT and the geographic database OpenStreetMap also indicate that more than 83 percent of mosques in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.
Nearly 90 percent of schools damaged
The area’s largely UN-run schools, where many civilians have taken refuge from the fighting, have also paid a heavy price, with the Israeli military accusing Hamas of using them to hide fighters.
As of December 1, 2024, UNICEF counted 496 schools damaged – almost 88 percent of the 564 facilities. There have been direct hits at 396 schools.
68 percent of agricultural land
According to UN satellite images from August 26, 68 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land (103 square kilometers) has been damaged. That includes 79 percent of the agricultural land in northern Gaza and 57 percent of that land in Rafah.
The destruction of irrigation systems, orchards, machinery and barns is even greater: between 80 and 96 percent have been “decimated” since early 2024, according to a September report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
In addition, 68 percent of Gaza’s road network has been damaged.
About 1,190 kilometers (740 miles) of roads have been destroyed, 415 kilometers severely damaged and 1,440 kilometers moderately damaged, according to a preliminary analysis by UNOSAT, which took into account data up to August 18.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)