More than 423,000 people displaced in Gaza amid IDF counterstrikes — UN

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Oct. 11, 2023 (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Oct. 11, 2023 (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

More than 423,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations says, following heavy Israeli bombardments in retaliation for Hamas’s massive terror onslaught over the weekend.

As of late Thursday, the number of displaced in Gaza rose by 84,444 people to reach 423,378, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA says in a statement.

“Heavy Israeli bombardments, from the air, sea and land, have continued almost uninterrupted,” OCHA says in its update. “Multiple residential buildings in densely populated areas have been targeted and destroyed during the past 24 hours.”

It says more than 270,000 people — two-thirds of the displaced — have sought shelter in schools run by the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

Another nearly 27,000 people had fled to schools run by the Palestinian Authority, while more than 153,000 people found shelter with relatives and neighbours and in other public facilities.

OCHA says that around 3,000 people had already been displaced within the enclave prior to Saturday’s attack.

The bombing campaign has destroyed 752 residential and non-residential buildings, comprising 2,835 housing units, OCHA says, citing numbers from the Gaza Ministry of Public Works and Housing.

Another nearly 1,800 housing units have been damaged beyond repair and rendered uninhabitable, it says.

The UN agency also voiced alarm at the significant destruction of civilian infrastructure damaged in the shelling.

At least 90 educational facilities, including 20 UNRWA schools and 70 schools run by the Palestinian Authority, have also been struck and damaged, with one of the schools completely destroyed.

“Eleven mosques were targeted and destroyed, while seven churches and mosques sustained damage,” OCHA says.

Water and sanitation facilities have been also hit, it says, adding that since the hostilities began, six water wells, three water pumping stations, one water reservoir, and one desalination plant serving more than 1,100,000 people were damaged by air strikes.

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