GENEVA: Nearly two-thirds of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed since the Gaza war began in October, the UN said Friday.
“UNOSAT’s latest damage building assessment, based on satellite imagery ... reveals that 151,265 structures have been affected in the Gaza Strip,” the UN Satellite Center said.
“Of these, 30 percent were destroyed, 12 percent severely damaged, 36 percent moderately damaged, and 20 percent possibly damaged, representing approximately 63 percent of the total structures in the region.”
The assessment compared imagery from May 2023 onward with images from July 6 this year.
“The impact on civilian infrastructure is evident, with thousands of homes and essential facilities being damaged,” the agency said.
UNOSAT said the total debris in the Gaza Strip generated by the conflict amounts to approximately 41.95 million metric tonnes. The figure is up 83 percent from the nearly 23 million tonnes estimated on Jan. 7.
The conflict has resulted in 14 times more debris than the combined total from all previous conflicts in the Palestinian territory since 2008, UNOSAT said.
The agency estimated that 114 kg of debris was generated for each square meter in the Gaza Strip.
Geneva-based UNOSAT says its satellite imagery-based analysis helps the humanitarian community assess the extent of conflict-related damage and helps shape emergency relief efforts.
Nearly two-thirds of Gaza buildings damaged in war — UN
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Nearly two-thirds of Gaza buildings damaged in war — UN
- The assessment compared imagery from May 2023 onward with images from July 6 this year
- The latest war has resulted in 14 times more debris than combined total of previous ones
Hamas armed wing vows ‘long war of attrition’ against Israel
- Israel has killed more than 41,900 Palestinians while also displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide accusations that Israel denies
DOHA, Qatar: Hamas’s armed wing vowed on Monday, the anniversary of the militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel, to keep fighting what it described as a “long war of attrition.”
“We choose to keep up the fight in a long war of attrition, one that is painful and costly for the enemy,” said Abu Obeida, spokesman of the militant group’s armed wing.
He also warned that scores of people taken hostage into Gaza on October 7 last year were enduring a “very difficult” situation.
He said the “psychological and health condition of the remaining hostages has become very difficult.”
His statement, broadcast on Al Jazeera, came as Israel marked the anniversary of the worst attack in its history.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants took 251 people hostage into Gaza, and 97 are still being held in there, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Saied re-elected Tunisia president with 90.7 percent of the vote
- Saied, 66, won Sunday’s vote by a landslide with 2.4 million votes
- His imprisoned rival Ayachi Zammel received just 7.3 percent
TUNIS: Kais Saied has been re-elected president of Tunisia with 90.69 percent of votes cast, electoral authority ISIE said Monday, although low turnout reflected widespread discontent in the cradle of the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings.
Three years after Saied made a sweeping power grab, rights groups fear his re-election will entrench his grip on the only democracy to emerge from the 2011 protests.
Saied, 66, won Sunday’s vote by a landslide with 2.4 million votes — but with turnout at only 28.8 percent of nearly 10 million eligible voters.
His imprisoned rival Ayachi Zammel received just 7.3 percent, and third candidate Zouhair Maghzaoui only 1.9 percent, ISIE head Farouk Bouasker said on national television.
Critics said the low turnout reflected widespread disillusionment with the election.
On Sunday, the ISIE said just six percent of voters were aged 18-35, a category constituting a third of the initially eligible electorate.
After longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in 2011, Tunisia prided itself on being the birthplace of the regional revolts against authoritarianism that became known as the Arab Spring.
But the North African country’s path changed dramatically after Saied was elected in 2019 with 73 percent of the vote.
Two years later, he dissolved parliament, and later rewrote the constitution.
Sunday’s turnout was the lowest recorded in a Tunisian presidential after Ben Ali’s ouster. In 2019, 58 percent turned out to vote for Saied as president.
“I didn’t vote yesterday, simply because I no longer have confidence and I am desperate,” said Houcine, 63, giving only one name for fear of retribution.
Political commentator Hatem Nafti, author of a forthcoming book on Saied’s authoritarian rule, said: “The vote’s legitimacy is undoubtedly tainted with candidates who could have overshadowed (Saied) being systematically sidelined.”
On Monday, the European Union said it had “taken note” of criticisms from rights groups “concerning the integrity of the electoral process” and “various measures deemed detrimental to the democratic requirements of credibility” of the vote.
Late Sunday, hundreds of Saied supporters took to the streets of Tunis in celebration after exit polls announced his potential win with 89 percent.
“I voted yesterday, and the results are excellent, everything is going very well, the atmosphere is great,” said Mounir, 65.
“What we need now is a drop in prices. We want better education, health and above all safety.”
Saied had been widely expected to win after the ISIE barred 14 candidates from standing, leaving just Zammel and Maghzaoui as challengers.
Zammel, a little-known liberal businessman, has been behind bars since his bid was approved by the ISIE in September. He faces more than 14 years in prison for allegedly forging endorsements.
Maghzaoui had backed Saied’s power grab, and was seen as no threat.
Rights groups have condemned a democratic backslide in Tunisia in recent years.
According to New York-based Human Rights Watch, more than “170 people are detained in Tunisia on political grounds or for exercising their fundamental rights.”
Other jailed figures include Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist-inspired opposition party Ennahdha, which dominated political life after the revolution.
Also detained is Abir Moussi, head of the Free Destourian Party, which critics accuse of wanting to bring back the regime ousted in 2011.
Saied had called on Tunisians to “vote massively” to usher in what he called an era of “reconstruction.”
He cited “a long war against conspiratorial forces linked to foreign circles,” accusing them of “infiltrating many public services and disrupting hundreds of projects.”
Ben Ali and other Arab leaders often cited foreign conspiracies to justify crackdowns on dissent.
The International Crisis Group think tank has said that while Saied “enjoys significant support among the working classes, he has been criticized for failing to resolve the country’s deep economic crisis.”
Celebrating the exit polls late Sunday, Saied again warned of “foreign interference,” pledging to rid Tunisia “of the corrupt and conspirators.”
Nafti said Saied will use his re-election as carte blanche for further crackdowns.
“He has promised to get rid of traitors and enemies of Tunisia,” Nafti said. “He will harden his rule.”
Lebanon says over 400,000 people fled to Syria in around 2 weeks
- More than 300,000 of those who escaped from September 23 to Saturday were Syrians returning to their war-torn country
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s government said Monday that more than 400,000 people had fled an Israeli escalation against Hezbollah across the border into Syria in less than two weeks.
More than 300,000 of those who escaped from September 23 to Saturday were Syrians returning to their war-torn country, while more than 102,000 were Lebanese, a governmental crisis unit said.
Lebanese state media said on Monday evening that two new strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, after Israel’s military issued a warning to inhabitants of the area.
An AFP correspondent saw smoke rise from the suburbs, and the country’s National News Agency reported that the area was “the target of two raids.”
Jordan’s foreign minister fears ‘abyss of full-scale regional war’
- 2,083 dead: The toll of Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the past year
- Safadi stresses Jordan’s support for Lebanese government
BEIRUT: Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi, who also serves as foreign minister, has said that Israel’s war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon is pushing the Middle East into the “abyss of full-scale regional war.”
Safadi was speaking at a news conference following a meeting with Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, in Beirut.
Safadi’s remarks came as Lebanon commemorated the first anniversary of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.
As of Oct. 7, the death toll had reached 2,083, including children, women, and high-ranking Hezbollah field commanders, along with casualties from the Lebanese army and Hezbollah-affiliated groups, medical staff, paramedics, firefighters, and journalists.
Additionally, there have been 9,869 people injured.
Safadi said that Jordan backed the Lebanese government’s initiative to elect a new president and its commitment to implement the UN Security Council resolution that ended Israel’s last war with Hezbollah in 2006 and aimed to keep southern Lebanon under the control of the Lebanese military and UN peacekeepers.
Safadi reaffirmed Jordan’s unwavering commitment to supporting Lebanon’s security, sovereignty, and the well-being of its citizens.
He spoke of Jordan’s readiness to assist Lebanon in facing the aftermath of recent attacks, which he characterized as a flagrant violation of international law and Lebanese sovereignty.
Safadi reiterated Jordan’s support for Lebanese efforts to strengthen its national institutions and make sovereign decisions.
He asserted that Jordan “will not allow itself to become a battleground for any party, nor tolerate any breaches of its airspace or sovereignty that threaten the security of its citizens.”
He added: “We have delivered this unequivocal message to both Iran and Israel.”
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that directives had been issued to enhance security measures.
Transport Minister Ali Hamieh said: “The ministry does not grant permission for any aircraft to land at Beirut International Airport — which remains operational — without prior approval from the military.”
He added that “all warships or vessels involved in military operations must secure a permit from the Joint Maritime Chamber — comprising the army, general security, internal security forces, state security, and other relevant agencies — before they are permitted to dock at any seaport.”
Hamieh emphasized the importance of “conducting security checks on all individuals and trucks at land crossings.”
He said Mikati “is dedicated to keeping Lebanon’s land, sea, and air crossings open to facilitate humanitarian aid and bolster the economy, reaffirming that Lebanon remains accessible to all nations, with reinforced security protocols in place.”
The Israeli army announced on Monday “the start of a focused and specific ground operation in southern Lebanon, with the Galilee Brigade 91 joining the operations.”
Israeli forces conducted an airstrike on a building belonging to the Federation of Municipalities of Bint Jbeil District in the town of Barashi, resulting in the deaths of 10 firefighters from the Islamic Health Organization, which is associated with Hezbollah.
Destructive airstrikes also continued in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as in the south region and the Bekaa Valley.
A spokesperson for the Israeli army told residents of 25 southern villages on Monday to evacuate the area, reminding those who had left their homes and villages not to “return until further notice, to ensure their safety.”
Israeli warnings also extended to anyone attempting “to repair the border road between Lebanon and Syria at the Masnaa point that was bombed by Israeli raids last week.”
Israel also warned “any party trying to approach the building that targeted the Head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council Hashem Safieddine, in the deepest tunnels under it last Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut, not to approach it to rescue him and those buried with him under it.”
Safieddine was regarded as one of the most prominent candidates to succeed killed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
Thick black smoke filled the sky over the southern suburbs following a night of intense violence marked by Israeli airstrikes that destroyed several residential buildings.
Israeli warplanes conducted over 30 airstrikes within half an hour on villages and towns in the Tyre district, along with numerous strikes in the central and eastern sectors, extending to the Nabatieh Governorate and the Jezzine District.
A raid on a residence in Srifa resulted in the deaths of four people, including a chief warrant officer in the Lebanese army, while a raid on a house in Kherbet Selem led to one fatality, and a strike on a house in Qaliya in Western Bekaa to the deaths of two people.
Hezbollah expanded the scope of its military operations on Monday against northern Israel by launching attacks on the city of Haifa and its residential neighborhoods.
The group reported that it struck the Carmel base in southern Haifa using Fadi missiles.
Hezbollah also targeted the settlement of Kiryat Shmona while extending its reach to the settlement of Dan near the occupied Golan Heights.
Israeli media reported that missiles had exploded in locations within Haifa — including a residence and a restaurant — resulting in significant material damage.
Channel 14 in Israel reported that several injured people from Haifa were transported to Rambam Hospital.
Israeli media reported in the afternoon that 60 missiles had been launched from Lebanon in the space of 90 minutes toward northern Israel. Hezbollah indicated that the settlements of Karmiel and Kfar Vradim had been targeted.
Praising Hamas, West Bank rally celebrates ‘resistance’ on October 7
- Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,909 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Waving Hamas flags and carrying portraits of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, hundreds rallied in support of the Palestinian struggle in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah Monday, the first anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel.
About 400 Palestinian protesters of all ages and representing various political factions marched in the de-facto Palestinian capital, which is controlled by long-time Hamas rival the Palestinian Authority, an AFP correspondent reported.
Activists organized the rally on the first anniversary of Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel under the slogan “we will not lose faith in the revolution.”
Beyond the characteristic yellow and green flags of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, protesters also waved the flags of Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen.
Hezbollah, as well as the pro-Iran Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Houthis in Yemen, have sporadically fired rockets and missiles at Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
Demonstrators also chanted “salute from Ramallah to Hezbollah soldiers,” and “put the sword against the sword, we are the men of Mohammed Deif,” in reference to Hamas’s military chief.
Israel says it killed Deif — nicknamed “the cat with nine lives” — in a strike in July, which Hamas denies.
Other participants held up a box shaped like a coffin that bore the words “International Law” and “Arab League” on its sides.
“We came to remember our martyrs, wish recovery for our wounded, and congratulate the resistance (to Israel), whether Palestinian, Lebanese, Iraqi, or Yemeni, for their struggles over the past year,” Jamila Johar told AFP, saying he was “hoping for victory.”
Others praised Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel outright.
“We came to raise our voices and say that the Palestinian struggle continues, and that the 7th of October took us from a phase of humiliation to a phase of dignity and pride,” said a man who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Similarly, Afaf Ghatasha, who identified herself simply as a member of the Palestinian People’s Party, said October 7 “changed the course of the Palestinian cause, the region, and the world.”
“We came to say that the world will not find stability until the occupation ends and a Palestinian state is established,” she added.
The Israeli military has been fighting against Hamas in Gaza since its unprecedented attack on Israel a year ago, resulting in the deaths of 1,206 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,909 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.