At least 2,000 Gaza housing units destroyed in Israel air raids: Palestinian official

A Palestinian official says an initial assessment shows at least 2,000 housing units were destroyed in airstrikes launched by Israel on Gaza.

Naji Sarhan, deputy of Gaza’s works and housing ministry, tells The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 15,000 other units were partly destroyed in the 11-day war.

Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes on the overcrowded strip, targeting residential, commercial, and government buildings. It said it was going after locations where Hamas had offices and resources.

Sarhan says four mosques were destroyed along with dozens of police offices in Gaza. He says most of the factories in Gaza’s industrial zone were destroyed or damaged.

Meanwhile, police inspected the unexploded Israeli ordnance collected during the campaign. Police chief Mahmoud Salah said nearly 300 Israeli rockets and shells did not explode.

Sarhan put the estimated financial losses from the fighting at $150 million.

He says the assessment is still ongoing.