Israel’s war on Gaza, one of the deadliest and most destructive in recent history, has killed nearly 42,000 people, just over half of them women and children, and injured more than 96,000, according to Palestinian health officials.
The death toll is likely to be much higher as thousands remain buried under rubble or in areas inaccessible to medical teams in a military operation that many governments and rights groups have described as genocide against the Palestinians.
The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas – in which, according to Israeli officials, 1,139 people were killed and around 250 captured – was followed by Israel’s devastating offensive on Gaza.
In the year since, about 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, most repeatedly, according to United Nations estimates.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families are crammed into vast tent camps near the Mediterranean coast – without electricity, running water or toilets. Hunger and disease are widespread.
The Shelter Cluster, an international coalition of aid providers led by the Norwegian Refugee Council, says it has struggled to deliver basic supplies due to Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the collapse of the public order in Gaza. It is estimated that some 900,000 people are in need of tents and bedding.
The UN says the war has damaged or destroyed more than 92 percent of Gaza’s main roads and more than 84 percent of its health facilities. It is estimated that almost 70 percent of Gaza’s water and sanitation facilities have been destroyed or damaged. This includes the territory’s five wastewater treatment facilities, as well as desalination plants, wastewater pumping stations, wells and reservoirs.
The UN also estimates that the war left some 40 million tons of debris and rubble in Gaza, enough to fill New York’s Central Park to a depth of 8 meters (about 25 feet). It could take up to 15 years and nearly $650 million to clean it all up, according to the release.
The World Bank estimated damage in Gaza at the equivalent of $18.5 billion in the first three months of the war, before Israel launched most of its ferocious operations. This figure is almost equivalent to the combined economic output of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022.
Israel allowed construction materials into Gaza before the war, but there were heavy restrictions and delays. The Shelter Cluster now estimates that it would take 40 years to rebuild all the homes destroyed in Gaza under this system.
