The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest report on the situation there that the airstrikes destroyed 16,441 houses, rendered 11,350 uninhabitable and damaged 150,000 others.
Entire neighborhoods were destroyed, particularly those of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Ash Shuja’iyeh, which lie in the area between Gaza and the Ash Shati’ and Abbassan Kabeera refugee camps, he explained.
Of the total number of Palestinians who fled their homes from Israeli bombing, 641,000 moved to 150 centers run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East, he added.
About 700,000 people took refuge in the homes of relatives or friends and 121,000 sought shelter in hospitals, churches and other public buildings, he said.
More than 15 percent of IDPs have disabilities, but most shelters are not adequately equipped to meet their needs, he noted.
OCHA stressed that the situation there remains dire, although humanitarian aid supplies that have arrived in the area in recent days have alleviated shortages of drinking water, food and medicine.
He stressed that since the current wave of violence began, 7,028 Palestinians have died in the enclave, including 2,913 minors and 1,709 women, while 1,400 people have lost their lives in Israel.
He added that around 1,600 Palestinians, including at least 900 children, were missing and could be trapped or dead under rubble in the Gaza Strip.
The UN agency noted that “Gaza is experiencing a total blackout for the seventeenth consecutive day after Israel cut off its electricity and fuel supplies.”
Regarding the health sector, he warned that hospitals are facing unprecedented levels of devastation, largely due to the overwhelming number of injuries and critical shortages of vital resources such as medical staff, electricity and water.
He stressed that ongoing hostilities have displaced most medical professionals, forcing these facilities to operate with less than a third of their normal staff.
In this regard, he announced that “since hostilities began, more than a third of Gaza’s hospitals (12 out of 35) and almost two thirds of primary care clinics (46 out of 72) have been closed due to damage or lack of fuel.” “.
The power outages also affected food suppliers and markets, while cold chains were damaged, causing them to start dumping their products, he concluded.
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