More than half of Gaza structures destroyed or damaged: UN

FE Team | Published: June 03, 2024 21:01:55

GENEVA, June 03 (AFP): Some 55 percent of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, damaged or possibly damaged since war erupted in the Palestinian territory eight months ago, according to preliminary satellite analysis by the UN.
The analysis showed more than 137,000 buildings affected, UNOSAT, the United Nations satellite analysis agency, said on X, formerly Twitter.
The estimate is based on a satellite image taken on May 3, and compared with images taken in May a year earlier, last September, and on October 15 -- just over a week after Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.
The fresh satellite image was also compared to images taken during several dates in November, then again during the first months of this year, UNOSAT said. "According to satellite imagery analysis, UNOSAT identified 36,591 destroyed structures," the agency said in a statement.
In addition, it said it had seen "16,513 severely damaged structures, 47,368 moderately damaged structures, and 36,825 possibly damaged structures for a total of 137,297 structures".
Maldives to ban Israelis
to protest Gaza war
The Indian Ocean nation of the Maldives will ban Israelis from the luxury tourist hot spot, the office of the president said Sunday, announcing a national rally in "solidarity with Palestine".
The Maldives, a tiny Islamic republic of more than 1,000 strategically located coral islets, is known for its secluded sandy white beaches, shallow turquoise lagoons and Robinson Crusoe-style getaways.