KEY POINTS
- Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, many multiple times, as 80% of structures lie in ruins.
- 88% of Gaza’s land—around 317 sq km—is under evacuation orders, according to OCHA.
- UNRWA and IPC confirm famine in Gaza, with over 500,000 facing catastrophic hunger.
- Only 2 of 36 hospitals remain functional; over 150 ambulances and hundreds of medical facilities have been destroyed.
- More than 179 public schools, 100 UNRWA schools, and 20 universities destroyed; 18,000 students killed.
- Over 67,139 Palestinians killed since 2023; actual death toll may exceed 200,000.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: Two years into Israel’s relentless military offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has released a grim fact sheet detailing the scale of devastation, describing Gaza as “a landscape of ruin and displacement.”
Nearly every family has been uprooted, infrastructure has collapsed, and the humanitarian crisis shows no sign of easing.
Destruction and displacement
According to UNRWA, nearly all of Gaza’s residents have been displaced, many multiple times, as relentless Israeli bombardments continue to destroy homes and essential infrastructure.
More than 80 percent of all structures across the Palestinian enclave have been damaged or destroyed, leaving entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble.
Over 1.9 million Palestinians—more than four-fifths of Gaza’s population—have been forced to flee their homes, with many now sheltering in overcrowded camps or open spaces with no access to basic facilities.
#Gaza’s war: 2 years too long.
🔴 Nearly 90% of water, sanitation, and hygiene resources destroyed or damaged
🔴 Over 60% of families lack access to soap
🔴 Over 40% live near uncollected waste
🔴 Half a million women and girls lack sufficient menstrual hygiene materials… pic.twitter.com/UG6kSuYtb9
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) October 5, 2025
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 88 percent of Gaza’s land, roughly 317 square kilometres, is now under evacuation orders.
UNRWA’s assessment shows famine has been confirmed in Gaza City and is projected to spread to Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis, while over 98 percent of Gaza’s cropland has been destroyed or rendered inaccessible.
Health system on the brink of collapse
Gaza’s health infrastructure has suffered catastrophic damage. Of the 36 hospitals that served the population before the war, only two remain fully functional and both are operating far beyond capacity, Palestine’s Wafa news agency reported.
More than 400 documented attacks have targeted hospitals, clinics, ambulances, and medical staff, according to Wafa.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 790 attacks on health workers and medical facilities have occurred since October 2023. Over 150 ambulances have been damaged or destroyed, leaving rescue teams unable to reach those trapped beneath debris.
Doctors operate in dire conditions, often without electricity, anaesthesia, or sufficient medical supplies, according to a report published by Wafa. The few partially functioning hospitals—such as Al-Shifa, Al-Ahli Baptist, and Nasser—are struggling to cope with thousands of wounded civilians.
Starvation as a weapon of war
The United Nations-led Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) had earlier confirmed the outbreak of famine in parts of Gaza, warning that over 500,000 Palestinians are facing “catastrophic levels” of hunger. More than 1 million others are enduring emergency or crisis levels of food insecurity.
Since early 2025, Israel has imposed even tighter restrictions on aid, sealing border crossings and severely limiting humanitarian deliveries.
Hundreds of aid trucks have been prevented from entering, with UN agencies describing the quantities allowed through as “a drop in the ocean.”
At least 459 people, including 154 children, have died directly from starvation and malnutrition since the siege began, Gaza’s health ministry stated.
Educational collapse
The destruction in Gaza extends beyond the humanitarian emergency, creating what the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) describes as a “slow-motion environmental disaster.”
Clean water is nearly unavailable as sewage systems have collapsed and aquifers are contaminated. According to UNEP, around 97 percent of Gaza’s tree crops and 95 percent of greenhouses have been destroyed, making local food production nearly impossible.
Out of an estimated 250,000 buildings, 78 percent have been damaged or destroyed, creating more than 61 million tonnes of rubble—much of it contaminated with hazardous materials such as asbestos and heavy metals, Wafa reported.
Education has also been decimated. Over 179 public schools and more than 100 UNRWA schools have been damaged or destroyed, while 20 higher education institutions have suffered severe damage, according to Wafa.
At least 18,000 school students and 1,300 university students have been killed since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Education. More than 630,000 children have been deprived of schooling, Wafa reported.
Mounting human cost
Gaza’s health authorities say more than 67,139 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, the majority of them women and children.
Thousands remain missing beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings, the ministry added. Independent experts, cited by Wafa, estimate the real death toll could be closer to 200,000 when accounting for unreported casualties.
The destruction has left millions of tonnes of debris covering once-populated areas, while hundreds of thousands of people remain homeless and exposed to disease and hunger.
As Israel’s campaign enters its third year, the international community’s condemnation has failed to translate into concrete action. Ceasefire proposals remain stalled, and humanitarian access continues to be restricted.
