Nearly a fifth of Gaza's buildings destroyed or damaged: UN

Nearly 40,000 buildings or about 18 percent of all pre-conflict structures have been damaged or destroyed in Gaza since the conflict began, a UN assessment has showed.

The latest estimate, based on a Nov. 26 image, was produced by the United Nations Satellite Centre, where analysts examine very high resolution satellite images to find damaged buildings and publish maps that can guide relief work and rebuilding plans during natural disasters and conflicts.

Estimates such as this based on high-resolution satellite images might still under-estimate the scale of destruction since they do not show all building damage - for example, a collapsed building with an intact roof can look undamaged.

"There has been a 49 percent increase in the total number of damaged structures, highlighting the escalating impact of the conflict on civilian infrastructures," UNOSAT said in a statement.

The assessment showed the worst affected areas were the two northern governorates of Gaza and North Gaza, which collectively accounted for 29,732 buildings of the 37,379 damaged or destroyed, or about 80 percent of the total.

Massive destruction

An earlier UN assessment released on November 7 said that 25,050 buildings had been damaged or destroyed or about 10 percent of the total structures in Gaza.

UNOSAT did not estimate damage by type of building. Some figures from Gazan authorities earlier in the conflict indicated widespread damage to housing.

One estimate quoted in a UN report on October 21 estimated that at least 42 percent of all housing units had been destroyed or damaged.

Around 1.9 million people, or about 85 percent of the population, have fled their homes as a result of the Israeli forces' brutal aerial and ground attack against Gaza since October 7.