GAZA CITY, Palestine : The Gaza City Municipality disclosed on Friday that the Israeli army had completely destroyed 35% of the buildings and residential structures in the Shujaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City.

In a statement, the municipality said that “the Israeli army intentionally targeted vital facilities and infrastructure, aiming to render Gaza uninhabitable,” noting that “it razed 35% of the buildings and residential structures solely in the Shujaiya neighborhood.”

“The Israeli army deliberately aimed at water tanks, trees, mosques, schools, and all essential facilities in the city,” it added.

On Thursday evening, the Civil Defense Service in the Gaza Strip reported over 60 bodies were recovered from the Shujaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City following the Israeli army’s withdrawal after a two-week ground operation.

The Israeli army’s retreat from Shujaiya uncovered extensive devastation, reducing the neighborhood to rubble. The army demolished entire residential blocks, cleared streets with bulldozers, and targeted local infrastructure.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Over 38,300 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 88,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6. — AA