One Year of War in Gaza: The conflict in numbers

BEIRUT - Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led Palestinian militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and seizing around 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Here is a breakdown of the effects of one year of conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Deaths and injuries

Israel's ground and air campaign has killed more than 41,600 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the latest data from the Gaza Health Ministry.

The Civil Emergency Service tasked with finding people missing under rubble, on roads and in ruined buildings in Gaza says it has been notified of around 10,000 missing people.

On Sept. 12, the World Health Organization said that more than 22,500 people – a quarter of those wounded in Gaza between October and July 23 – have life-changing injuries, requiring rehabilitation services "now and for years to come".

These include severe limb injuries, amputations, spinal cord trauma, traumatic brain injuries and major burns. These affect "many thousands of women and children".

Around 5% of Gaza's total population of 2.3 million, have been killed or wounded during the offensive.

Children

More than 14,000 children have been killed in Gaza, according to estimates by Palestinian health authorities that were cited in May by the U.N. children's agency.

An estimated 17,000 children are unaccompanied or separated from their families, UNICEF said.

More children were killed in Gaza in the first four months of Israel's campaign than the total number of children killed in conflicts worldwide in the past four years, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said in March.

Homes and buildings

Around 80% of the Strip's 2.3 million people have been displaced during the offensive, with many "continuing to survive in abysmal conditions, crammed in worn-out tents and damaged structures with limited food, water and other necessities," the U.N. said in September.

Some have been displaced up to 10 times.

Satellite imagery analysed by the United Nations Satellite Centre in May showed 55% of the strip's buildings had been destroyed or damaged.

About 87,000 housing units have been destroyed in the conflict, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

The United Nations has said that removing 40 million tonnes of rubble could take 15 years and cost between $500-600 million.

In a best-case scenario, rebuilding Gaza's destroyed homes will take until at least 2040 but the process could take as long as 80 years, according to U.N. assessments.

Schools and hospitals

Since last October, every school in the Gaza Strip has been closed and most have been damaged.

UNICEF says at least 84% of schools require full reconstruction or significant rehabilitation before schooling can resume. 

Only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partially functional while primary health care and community-level services are frequently suspended or rendered inaccessible due to insecurity, attacks, and repeated evacuation orders.

Economic impact

Half of Gaza's population was already living below the poverty line before the war.

Now, Gaza's economy has shrunk to less than a sixth of its size when the war began while unemployment in the occupied West Bank has nearly tripled, according to a U.N. report released in September.

The report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said Gaza's economy was "in ruins" while more than 300,000 jobs had been lost in the West Bank since the war began, driving up the unemployment rate from 12.9% to 32%.

Environmental impact

A study by an international team of researchers released by Queen Mary University of London in June estimated that the emissions from the first 120 days of the conflict alone were greater than the annual emissions of 26 individual countries and territories.

When war infrastructure built by both Israel and Hamas was factored in, the total emissions increased to more than those of 36 countries and territories.

A preliminary assessment carried out by the U.N. Environment Programme found the war had caused "unprecedented" environmental impacts, including soil, water and air pollution and potentially irreversible damage to natural ecosystems.

"Water and sanitation have collapsed. Critical infrastructure continues to be decimated. Coastal areas, soil and ecosystems have been severely impacted. All of this is deeply harming people's health, food security and Gaza's resilience," UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said in June.

An estimated 39 million tonnes of debris have been generated by the conflict – for each square metre in the Gaza Strip, there is now over 107 kg of debris, the report said.

This debris threatens human health and the environment, from dust and contamination with unexploded ordnance, asbestos, industrial and medical waste, and other hazardous substances.

Munitions containing heavy metals and explosive chemicals have contaminated soil and water while solar panels have been destroyed, allowing lead and other heavy metals to leak into the soil and water.

Gaza's five wastewater treatment plants have shut down, with sewage contaminating beaches, coastal waters, soil, and freshwater with a host of pathogens, nutrients, microplastics, and hazardous chemicals.

This story was updated throughout October 6 to reflect latest figures.

(Reporting by Nazih Osseiran; Editing by Helen Popper and Clar Ni Chonghaile.)