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SvennoJ on 30 January 2024
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BBC finds more than 50 percent of Gaza buildings damaged, destroyed

An analysis by the BBC has found that at least half of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged as Israel continues its assault on the strip, one of the most destructive in modern history. “Satellite data analysis obtained by the BBC shows the true extent of the destruction,” the story reads.

“The analysis suggests between 144,000 and 175,000 buildings across the whole Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. That’s between 50 percent and 61 percent of Gaza’s buildings.” The analysis also shows widespread destruction of farmland and a proliferation of tent cities near the border with Egypt. “We’ve done work over Ukraine, we’ve also looked at Aleppo and other cities, but the extent and the pace of damage is remarkable,” said Corey Scher of City University of New York, who helped put together the analysis.

“I’ve never seen this much damage appear so quickly.”

Palestinians suffocating to death during clamour for food: Mercy Corps member

Waleed*, a team member of the NGO in Gaza, says the situation in the north is “very difficult” and some people haven’t had a piece of bread for more than a month. Here’s his update regarding the scarcity of food:

  • “Many are limited to just one meal a day, typically consisting of rice. There are no vegetables available; I haven’t seen tomatoes, cucumbers, or potatoes for about 90 days.
  • “If something is available, you cannot afford to buy it. A bag of flour, previously priced at 35 shekels ($9.56) is now 600 shekels ($164). The cost of rice, once 6 shekels ($1.64) per kilo, is now 17 shekels ($4.64). This is the same for all items.
  • “Instead, you must wait for aid trucks in a place near the tanks to find something to eat. Every day people go hoping to get some assistance and tanks shoot at them, resulting in casualties. Personally, from the beginning of the war until today, my family hasn’t received any kind of assistance. We now eat only once a day and say it’s enough.
  • “The aid trucks reaching the north are very few and because there is no one responsible for the distribution process, it’s extremely chaotic. People often intercept these trucks and directly take items from them because they know they won’t get anything otherwise.
  • “Recently, I went to observe the aid distribution and it was very distressing. Thousands of people were waiting by the seaside in the hope that aid trucks would enter and after waiting for hours, only two trucks entered – for thousands of hungry people. People crowded around them so intensely that I witnessed two people suffocating to death from the overcrowding.
  • “Most people are not getting any assistance either because they are not willing to risk going to places where there’s a high chance of being targeted or because they cannot compete with so many people trying to get aid.”

Waleed is a pseudonym being used to protect the safety of the individual and his family. He is located in Gaza City.


Palestinians carry bags of flour they grabbed from an aid truck near an Israeli checkpoint in Gaza City, January 27

Food unable to reach Nasser Hospital due to starving crowds: WHO director

Director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the WHO and its partners had planned to deliver food to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, as there is a “serious shortage” there. However, “due to delays around the checkpoint, the crowds took food being delivered, and once again it did not reach Nasser”, he said.

“This underscores the utter desperation of people in Gaza, who live in hellish conditions, including severe hunger,” Tedros noted on X. “We continue to seek permission to deliver the fuel to the hospital.”

Remains of dozens of Palestinians released for burial by Israel

After being released by Israel, the bodies of dozens of Palestinians are being buried in Rafah. Largely decomposed and unidentifiable, the bodies were held by Israel for weeks. Omar Abu Taha, a Palestinian doctor, told Al Jazeera that Israel sometimes receives only body parts.

“We don’t know where they were injured or even their names,” he said.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 30 January 2024