35pc of Gaza’s buildings destroyed or damaged

Satellite images analysed by the United Nations Satellite Centre show that 35 percent of the Gaza Strip's buildings have been destroyed or damaged in the Israel offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

In its assessment, the United Nations Satellite Centre, UNOSAT, used high-resolution satellite images collected on February 29 and compared them with images taken before and after the start of the latest conflict.

It found that 35 percent of all buildings in the Gaza Strip - 88,868 structures - had been damaged or destroyed.

Among these, it identified 31,198 structures as destroyed, 16,908 as severely damaged, and 40,762 as moderately damaged.

This represents an increase of nearly 20,000 damaged structures compared to the previous assessment it did based on images taken in January that showed 30 percent of all buildings had been damaged or destroyed, UNOSAT said.

"The governorates of Khan Younis and Gaza have experienced the most significant rise in damage, with Khan Yunis seeing 12,279 additional damaged structures and Gaza experiencing 2,010," UNOSAT said.

"Khan Younis City has been hit particularly hard, with 6,663 newly destroyed structures."

Meanwhile, Canada will halt all arms shipments to Israel, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly's office confirmed Wednesday, a decision that has drawn the ire of Israeli leaders facing growing international scrutiny over the offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The besieged Palestinian territory is facing a mounting humanitarian crisis, and months of offensive have pushed hundreds of thousands of Gazans to the brink of famine.