The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that 70% of all Gaza homes and about half of all its buildings have been either damaged or destroyed due to Israeli airstrikes during its war with the Hamas terror organization.
The report states that Gaza contained about 439,000 homes. Israel states that the airstrikes targeted Hamas, which is responsible for the murder of 1,200 civilians on October 7. Israel has also said that it is taking steps to avoid killing civilians.
Buildings destroyed, the Journal claims, include “Byzantine churches and ancient mosques, factories and apartment buildings, shopping malls and luxury hotels, theaters and schools.” Furthermore, the infrastructure used for water, healthcare, electricity, and healthcare is “beyond repair.”
The extensive report also mentioned the health services and claimed that only 8 out of 36 hospitals are receiving patients. It also stated that more than two-thirds of the schools in Gaza were damaged, and many orchards, greenhouses, and agricultural areas were “completely wiped out.”
The report also cites the Hamas-run health ministry’s claim that 21,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, but notes that the number “doesn’t distinguish between civilians and militants.”
It will take a while for Gaza to rebuild - N12
Around the time the report came out, N12 cited an estimate by aid organizations that it would take at least a year after the war to clear the rubble, and it would take approximately seven to ten years to rebuild destroyed houses, with the overall cost of restoring Gaza estimated at $3.5 billion.