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Gaza by Numbers: Death Toll Rises above 2,000

The death toll in Gaza rose above 2,000 on Monday, some seven weeks after Israel and Hamas embarked upon a bloody confrontation which has not yet formally ended.

Both sides are currently observing a five-day truce which is due to end at 2100 GMT as negotiators work to secure a permanent end to hostilities.

Here is a summary of the main statistics since the conflict began on July 8:

-- DEATH TOLL

In Gaza, 2,016 Palestinians have been killed and 10,196 wounded since the start of the Israeli offensive, the health ministry said.

Among the dead were 541 children, 250 women and 95 elderly men.

Figures released by the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA, which were correct at 0800 GMT on August 14, gave a total of 1,973 dead Palestinians.

Of those whose identities have been verified, 1,416 were civilians, or 72 percent, OCHA said. The number includes 459 children and 238 women.

OCHA says 230 of the dead have been identified as members of armed groups.

In Israel, 64 soldiers were killed after the ground offensive began on July 17, five of whom died in "friendly fire" incidents, the army said on Monday.

Most died in fighting in Gaza but others were killed by militants who infiltrated southern Israel.

Three civilians were killed by Palestinian rocket attacks -- two Israelis and a Thai worker.

Israel's military losses are the heaviest since the Jewish state's 2006 war against Hizbullah in Lebanon.

The army does not disclose the number of soldiers admitted to hospitals.

-- DISPLACED

OCHA says 209,459 people are still sheltering in 87 schools run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), down from a high of 273,000 on August 4.

Another 15,400 are staying in seven government shelters supported by UNRWA and nearly 115,000 are staying with host families, OCHA says.

A UNRWA spokesperson on Monday said there were 237,659 displaced people in 81 UNRWA shelters in Gaza, adding that services were being provided to an additional 28,000 in non-UNRWA schools.

-- ROCKETS

According to army figures, militants fired 3,515 rockets, of which 2,764 hit Israel while another 600 were intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile defenses.

-- STRIKES

Israel says it struck approximately 5,000 targets across the Gaza Strip.

The army said it destroyed more than 3,000 rockets, and razed 32 cross-border tunnels used by militants to attack Israel.

It said troops killed 900 militants in combat.

-- DESTRUCTION

OCHA estimates that 8,832 housing units were completely destroyed, and another 7,960 were severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable without major repairs. Another 5,635 sustained major damage but are partly inhabitable while 33,625 sustained minor damage.

A total of 230 schools (90 belonging to UNRWA and 140 run by the Gaza government) were damaged, among them 25 which were entirely destroyed or severely damaged.

Three UNRWA schools were used by armed groups to store rockets.

One Palestinian government school was used by Israeli forces as a base.

Two Israeli schools were damaged by Palestinian rocket fire, UNICEF says.

Health facilities were also damaged, with 43 of Gaza's 88 clinics damaged in the fighting. Of that number, 15 are still closed: seven due to damage and eight others which were shut because they were in dangerous areas.

Source: Agence France Presse


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