The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) revealed that about 1.9 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are homeless, after more than 15 months of intensive Israeli bombing, in which thousands have been killed and where the infrastructure became almost completely destroyed.
In a statement, the UNRWA states that “at least 1.9 million people have been displaced in Gaza due to the war. Many of them have been forced to live in makeshift shelters, such as those in the Al-Mawasi area, in southwest Gaza.”
“Most homes are either completely destroyed or uninhabitable,” UNRWA said, emphasizing that “rebuilding infrastructure and lives, and addressing the trauma will take years.”
It added that the humanitarian situation in Gaza, especially in the north of the Strip, is “extremely dire,” expressing its deep concern about the repercussions of the widespread destruction that affected residential neighbourhoods and vital facilities.
With the ceasefire taking effect last Sunday; Field footage documented the massive destruction of entire streets and residential areas in northern Gaza, where residents have been living under a stifling siege for more than three months.
UNRWA confirmed that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are living in the rubble, in “dire need of life-saving assistance,” stressing the need to continue its efforts to provide humanitarian assistance of this magnitude, amid extremely difficult logistical conditions.
According to statistics from the Government Media Office in Gaza, about 88% of the infrastructure in the Strip has been destroyed, including homes, hospitals, and streets, in addition to water, electricity, and sewage networks, making it extremely difficult to return to normal life.
With the ceasefire coming into effect, large numbers of displaced persons were forced to return to their destroyed areas, where they set up temporary tents on the ruins of their homes, amid the absence of the minimum requirements for human life.
This catastrophe in Gaza requires a call for an independent international investigation to hold Israeli officials accountable for war crimes and documented violations, in addition to intensifying international efforts to provide urgent humanitarian support to the people of Gaza, guarantee their right to live in dignity, and end the ongoing siege.
