Watan-Rafah Mayor Ahmed Al-Sufi declared the city of Rafah in southern Gaza a disaster zone after 470 days of genocide and destruction inflicted by Israeli aggression.
In a press conference held in Rafah, Al-Sufi stated that the city has been reduced to rubble and debris due to systematic and brutal aggression, which forcibly displaced its residents, destroyed homes, and left neither stone nor human untouched.
He emphasized that what Rafah witnessed was not just a military operation but a chapter of genocide and ethnic cleansing aimed at erasing all signs of life. Entire neighborhoods were obliterated, infrastructure was destroyed, streets were razed, and the city has become uninhabitable.
Al-Sufi outlined the preliminary estimates of the catastrophe’s aftermath as follows:
- 30 out of 36 municipal buildings in Rafah, including the main municipality building, were completely destroyed.
- 60% of the city’s homes, equivalent to 16,000 buildings containing 35,000 housing units, were leveled.
- 15 out of 24 water wells were destroyed.
- 70% of the sewage system was damaged, turning the city into an environment prone to disease outbreaks.
- 291 kilometers of streets and roads were completely destroyed and leveled.
- Four schools were entirely destroyed, with significant damage to other educational institutions.
- Nine medical centers, including four hospitals (Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital, the Maternity Hospital, the Indonesian Hospital, and the Kuwaiti Hospital), went out of service.
- 81 mosques were completely destroyed, and 47 mosques suffered extensive damage.
- Thousands of acres of farmland were razed, and trees and greenhouses were entirely wiped out.
- A large section of the city along the border with Egypt, stretching 9 kilometers in length and 500 to 900 meters in width, was destroyed, erasing 90% of residential areas in Al-Salam and Brazil neighborhoods and the Rafah camp.
Al-Sufi concluded by appealing to the Arab and Islamic nations and the free world to extend a helping hand to the people of Gaza for relief efforts and to rebuild the city. He described this announcement as a cry for help to the free world and all international organizations to assist Rafah and the rest of Gaza in recovering from the destruction caused by Israeli aggression.
Gaza’s Losses
Since the Israeli assault on Gaza 15 months ago, Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave has caused “unprecedented destruction in modern history,” according to a United Nations report.
Buildings
The latest damage assessment by the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) indicates that as of December 1, nearly 69% of the buildings in Gaza—totaling 170,812 structures—were either damaged or destroyed.
American researchers Corey Sher and Jarmon Van Den Hoek, using satellite analyses with a different methodology, estimated 172,015 buildings to have been partially or completely damaged as of January 11. This represents 59.8% of the buildings in the Gaza Strip.
The military campaign launched by Israel in response to a Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of at least 46,788 people in Gaza, most of whom were civilians, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, a figure deemed credible by the United Nations.
Hospitals
During the war, the Israeli military systematically targeted hospitals in the enclave. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Kamal Adwan Hospital—one of the few medical facilities operational in northern Gaza—became “empty” and “out of service” after a major Israeli military operation in late December.
The WHO also reported that only 18 out of 36 hospitals (50%) in Gaza were partially operational, with a total capacity of 1,800 beds.
On December 31, the United Nations warned that the health system in Gaza was “on the verge of complete collapse.”
Mosques
Based on data from UNOSAT and the OpenStreetMap database, 83% of mosques in Gaza were partially or completely damaged.
Schools
Schools, many of which have been used as shelters for displaced persons since the start of the war, suffered severe damage. UNICEF reported that by December 1, at least 496 schools—approximately 88% of the 564 registered facilities—had been damaged, with 396 schools directly hit by airstrikes.
Agricultural Lands
Satellite imagery from UNOSAT dated September 26, 2024, revealed that 68% of agricultural lands in Gaza—equivalent to 103 square kilometers—were damaged by the war.
In northern Gaza, 79% of agricultural land was affected, and in Rafah, the figure was 57%. Damage to agricultural assets, such as irrigation systems, livestock farms, orchards, machinery, and storage facilities, ranged from 80% to 96% by early 2024, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Road Networks
Approximately 68% of Gaza’s roads were damaged, with a total of 1,190 kilometers destroyed, according to a preliminary analysis conducted by UNOSAT on August 18.
Reconstruction Costs
The United Nations estimated the total cost of rebuilding the destruction caused by the war at $40 billion USD. The total debris in Gaza was calculated to be around 37 million tons, with more than 70% of all housing damaged or destroyed.
The United Nations described the destruction as massive and horrifying, with the education and healthcare sectors almost entirely destroyed.
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