Israeli imposed war damages 20,000 houses in Gaza

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:04:50 GMT

Piles of furniture are seen outside a destroyed house in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City. Gazans need at least 1.6 billion dollars to repair damages to their infrastructure. The Palestinian Central Bureau Statistics says the Israeli onslaught on Gaza has cost the Palestinian economy at least $1.6 billion. The bureau, in its latest report, said that Israel has reduced some 4,000 residential buildings to rubble and damaged 16,000 more houses during the conflict. This brings the number of houses destroyed or devastated in the Israeli attacks to 20,000, which consists of 15 percent of all Gaza structures. Tel Aviv waged war on the Gaza Strip on December 27 and killed at least 1,300 Palestinians, including 411 children, and wounded 6,000 others. While both Palestinians and international bodies continue their efforts to determine the economic damage suffered since the start of the Israeli offensive, preliminary estimates have been provided. Rafik al-Husseini, an advisor to acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas, put the damage at $2 billion. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau Statistics, repairing damages to the territory's infrastructure and its facilities would cost at least $1.6 billion. The Israeli army has targeted schools, university buildings, hospitals, mosques, roads, bridges, power lines, water pipes and the sewage system. Some 26,000 Palestinians have sought refuge in UN shelters, some of whom have become homeless due to the war