Counting the cost in Gaza

Counting the cost in Gaza

Counting the cost in Gaza

Gaza’s healthcare system – already struggling to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic – was further burdened by caring for those injured by air and artillery strikes during recent hostilities with Israel.

In the first comprehensive tally of the destruction caused by the 11-day conflict which ended in a ceasefire May 21, Reuters analysis of data from the United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) reveals that the impact could be even greater, with 11% of Gaza’s health facilities within 100 metres of damaged and destroyed buildings.

The hostilities led to growing fears of a surge in Covid cases, with many people displaced by bombings crowding together for shelter.

18 hospitals or health centres

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

GAZA

Mediterranean

Sea

Khan Yunis

ISRAEL

18 hospitals or health centres

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

Mediterranean Sea

GAZA

ISRAEL

Khan Yunis

18 hospitals or health centres

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

GAZA

Mediterranean Sea

ISRAEL

Khan Yunis

EGYPT

18 hospitals or health centres

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

GAZA

Mediterranean Sea

ISRAEL

Khan Yunis

EGYPT

18 hospitals or health centres

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

GAZA

Mediterranean Sea

ISRAEL

Khan Yunis

EGYPT

UNOSAT analysis reveals 40 craters were visible on roads, likely to hinder ambulance access and medical supplies.

Tracking the spread of the coronavirus in such a densely populated area was made more difficult by damage inflicted to Gaza’s main testing laboratory

Nearby, Israel destroyed the 12-storey al-Jalaa tower block in Gaza housing the offices of the U.S.-based Associated Press and other news media.

The Israeli military said it destroyed the building on May 15 because Hamas was using part of the building for intelligence R&D and to carry out signals intelligence and electronic warfare operations, one of whose goals was to disrupt Israel’s Iron Dome aerial missile defense system.

Destroyed and

damaged buildings

Covid testing

site damaged

al-Jalaa tower

destroyed

Gaza City

Schools and health facilities

Destroyed and

damaged buildings

Covid testing

site damaged

al-Jalaa tower

block destroyed

Gaza City

Schools and health facilities

Covid testing

site damaged

Destroyed and

damaged buildings

al-Jalaa tower block

destroyed

Gaza City

Schools and health facilities

Covid testing site damaged

Destroyed and

damaged buildings

al-Jalaa tower block destroyed

Gaza City

Schools and health facilities

Israel launched its recent offensive after Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv following an increase in tensions, including Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.

Israel said Hamas and other militant groups fired around 4,350 rockets from Gaza, of which around 640 fell short into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said that 90% of those that crossed the border were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system.

Reuters analysis of UNOSAT data shows that 52 schools were within 100 metres of airstrike damage or destruction.

52 schools

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

GAZA

Mediterranean

Sea

Khan Yunis

ISRAEL

52 schools

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

Mediterranean Sea

GAZA

ISRAEL

Khan Yunis

52 schools

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

GAZA

Mediterranean Sea

ISRAEL

Khan Yunis

EGYPT

52 schools

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

GAZA

Mediterranean Sea

ISRAEL

Khan Yunis

EGYPT

52 schools

within 100 metres of damaged buildings or

impact craters from airstrikes

Jabalia

Gaza City

GAZA

Mediterranean Sea

ISRAEL

Khan Yunis

EGYPT

One Israeli soldier was killed and 12 civilians, including two children. Hundreds were treated for injuries after the rocket salvoes caused panic and sent millions fleeing for shelters as far away as Tel Aviv.

Recent Israeli strikes in Gaza killed 66 children – 26% of all fatalities – and injured 600 more according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). During the hostilities, education was suspended for 600,000.

66 children killed

63 of those seemingly

by Israeli Defense Forces

190 adults killed

182 of those seemingly

by Israeli Defense Forces

66 children killed

63 of those seemingly

by Israeli Defense Forces

190 adults killed

182 of those seemingly

by Israeli Defense Forces

66 children killed

63 of those seemingly

by Israeli Defense Forces

190 adults killed

182 of those seemingly

by Israeli Defense Forces

551 children – 25% of all Palestinian fatalities – were killed in 2014 when Israel launched Operation Protective Edge after Hamas’ kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers.

Damage across Gaza

Reuters analysis of UNOSAT’s damage assessment.

Based on a May 28 satellite image

Impact crater in field

1,144

Possible damage

249

Damaged buildings

244

Destroyed buildings

242

Impact crater on road

40

Damage across Gaza

Reuters analysis of UNOSAT’s damage assessment.

Based on a May 28 satellite image

Impact crater in field

1,144

Possible damage

249

Damaged buildings

244

Destroyed buildings

242

Impact crater on road

40

Damage across Gaza

Reuters analysis of UNOSAT’s damage assessment. Based on a May 28 satellite image

Impact crater in field

1,144

Possible damage

249

Damaged buildings

244

Destroyed buildings

242

Impact crater on road

40

Although the latest unrest in Jerusalem was the immediate trigger for hostilities, Palestinians are frustrated by setbacks to their aspirations for an independent state in recent years, including Washington’s recognition of disputed Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Israel says it strikes only sites it deems military targets used by militants and that it regularly issues prior warnings to evacuate buildings it sees as legitimate targets as part of wider efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

Note

UNOSAT preliminary analysis based on a May 28 satellite image and not yet validated in the field

Sources

United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT); Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); healsites.io; Mapcreator

Edited by

Jon McClure, Stephen Farrell