The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said that over 282,000 homes in Gaza were destroyed or damaged during Israel’s two-year war. The large-scale destruction has forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to live in makeshift shelters (tents) ahead of the incoming winter season.
The startling figures come from the shelter cluster, a humanitarian platform jointly managed by the UNRWA and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the agency said in a statement on X.
It said tens of thousands of displaced families are living in tents as the winter draws near, adding that these families are already crowded into “tight spaces” and struggle with “a lack of privacy and limited access to essential services.”
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in place since October 10, but international organisations and the Gaza health ministry report daily violations by the Israeli side despite the ceasefire.
The repeated violations are causing hundreds of Palestinian casualties and restricting the entry of food and medical supplies.
According to the latest UN estimates, more than 245 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed in the recent airstrikes carried out by the Israeli defence forces in Gaza.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, injured over 170,700 others, and left the enclave uninhabitable.
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