Nearly half of Gaza home have been destroyed, damaged by Israel-Hamas conflict: UN

Nearly half of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the United Nations reported.

According to a recently released report from the U.N. surveying a preliminary aerial assessment of structural damage in Gaza, 45 percent of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.

More than 40,000 destroyed housing units have been destroyed and over 222,000 have been partially damaged, the report found.

Airstrikes have hit Gaza repeatedly over the course of several weeks, after the Palestinian militant group Hamas entered Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7. Israeli forces have said approximately 1,200 people were killed in the initial attack. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported there have been 10,569 fatalities in Gaza.

At least 10,000 non-residential buildings have also been hit. At least three churches and 66 mosques have been damaged in the wake of Israeli airstrikes. Almost 300 education facilities have been damaged, and 120 health facilities have been attacked.

According to the report, 18 hospitals and 40 health care centers are out of service. Of the 13 hospitals that are still able to operate, all of them have received evacuation orders.

“Significant damage has been inflicted upon critical infrastructure and essential services, affecting people’s ability to maintain their dignity and basic living standards,” the U.N. wrote.

The report said there are 1.5 million internally displaced residents, which makes up 65 percent of Gaza’s population. There are 26,475 known injuries and a full electricity blackout has been going on for 29 days, the U.N reported.