PARIS, Sept 25 — Nearly a year of war between Israel and Hamas has devastated Gaza, with tens of thousands killed and widespread destruction. By September 2024, nearly 59 percent of Gaza’s buildings — around 169,000 — were damaged or destroyed. Most of the destruction occurred in the first few months after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,205 people, mostly civilians.

Since then, over 41,455 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in Israeli strikes. The UN confirms these figures as reliable.

Gaza City, once home to 600,000 people, has seen nearly three-quarters of its buildings damaged or destroyed. Rafah, in the south, also suffered severe damage.

Gaza's hospitals have been repeatedly targeted, with only 44 percent functioning by August. Additionally, 85 percent of schools have been damaged, as well as 68 percent of farmland and roads. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the scale of suffering "unimaginable.