During 416 days of warfare, nearly 44,000 of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, 104,00 wounded and 11,000 are missing, according to the United Nations.
Its agencies estimate that 1.9 million Palestinians – about 90 per cent of the population – have been displaced, most multiple times. “Many of the displaced are in tents or temporary shelters that afford little protection against the winter elements, and some are living in the open with no shelter,” the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) reported in its November 19th “snapshot”, which publishes figures from various UN organisations.
According to Ocha, 87 per cent of residential buildings, 80 per cent of commercial facilities and 68 per cent of road networks have been damaged or destroyed. Some 1.34 million Gazans need emergency shelter and essential household items before winter. The water supply has been reduced to a quarter of the flow of 13 months ago and one million people risk illness from sewage, solid waste, garbage, rodents and insects. Last month 19 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals had closed and the remaining 17 partially functioned.
Ocha reported that 91 per cent of the population faces food insecurity. While 500 truck loads of aid and commercial goods entered Gaza daily before October 2023, the daily average for last month was 37 and for this month to date it has been 71. Local food production which formerly provided fresh vegetables, fruit and meat has fallen. Some 68 per cent of farmland and 44 per cent of the area covered by greenhouses has been damaged; 95 per cent of cattle, 43 per cent of sheep and 37 per cent of goats have died. Only 1 per cent of poultry remains alive, Ocha said. The US-funded Integrated Food Security Phase Classification calculated that at least 62,413 people in Gaza have through mid-October starved to death, most of whom were young children.
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The United Nations Development Programme said poverty in Gaza had risen to 97.9 per cent. Unemployment had soared to 80 per cent, “with the education sector among the hardest hit”. As 92.9 per cent of schools were damaged or destroyed, 625,000 students had no access to education. “This devastation has pushed Gaza to the breaking point, contributing to the rollback of human development by an estimated 70 years, resembling conditions in Gaza last seen in 1955,” said the UNDP.
Israel’s bombing campaign has created more than 42 million tonnes of rubble, which continues to accumulate. This could take 14 years to clear and, according to a UN official, could cost $1.2 billion (€1.1 billion). The debris engulfs the entire strip and contains human remains, unexploded ordnance and toxic material. The World Health Organisation said the debris releases hazardous dust into the air and fluids that seep into water supplies.
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