The Associated Press
CAIRO (AP) — Here is a look at the scope of destruction in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war this summer, based on statistics from the United Nations, other international agencies and the Palestinian government.
HOMES
About 100,000 housing units were destroyed or damaged to varying degrees, exceeding an initial estimate of 60,000, according to U.N. surveys. Of those, about 20,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged.
DISPLACED
More than 100,000 people are still displaced, with about 57,000 living in communal shelters, including U.N. schools and 47,000 with host families.
BUSINESSES
Close to 1,000 industrial enterprises, such as workshops and factories, were damaged or destroyed, along with more than 4,200 shops and other commercial enterprises.
INFRASTRUCTURE
More than two dozen water wells were damaged. Close to 50 kilometers (31 miles) of water networks and more than 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) of sewage pipes were destroyed. Gaza’s only power plant was badly damaged.
RUBBLE
About 2.5 million tons will need to be removed.
THE WAR
The war lasted for 50 days, ending in late August. Israel launched thousands of airstrikes at what it said were Hamas-linked targets, while Gaza militants fired thousands of rockets and mortar shells at Israel. More than 2,100 Palestinians were killed, the vast majority civilians, according to the U.N. Seventy-two people were killed on the Israeli side, including 66 soldiers. It was the third war between Israel and Hamas since December 2008.
THE TERRITORY
Gaza, a narrow sliver of land along the Mediterranean, is wedged between Israel and Egypt and has 1.8 million people, one of the highest population densities in the world. In 2007, the Islamic militant Hamas seized Gaza from Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, prompting a border closure by Israel and Egypt. The closure has crippled Gaza’s economy, and a majority depends on aid.
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