Photos: Nearly a fifth of Gaza's buildings destroyed or damaged: UN estimate

An aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City. Israel declared war on Hamas on October 8 following a shock land, air and sea assault by the Gaza-based Islamists. Nearly 40,000 buildings, or about 18% of all pre-conflict structures, have been damaged or destroyed in the Gaza Strip since the conflict began on October 7, according to a UN assessment.

Palestinians gather amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an Israeli bombardment on December 14 in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Around 1.9 million people, or about 85% of the population, have fled their homes.

Residents search the rubble of a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in the Yabna refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Thursday, Dec 14, 2023.

A picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke rising above buildings during an Israeli strike in Gaza.

An inscription in Arabic left on a concrete slab from a destroyed building reads, "The children are still under the rubble, Omar, Abdullah, Masah, RIP", in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian woman stands at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip December 14, 2023.

Destroyed residential buildings following an Israeli airstrike near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip.

Palestinians gather as smoke rises at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Residents search the rubble of a building following an Israeli airstrike in a residential district of the Al-Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza.