GAZA, January 22, 2009 (WAFA)- The offensive launched by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on the Gaza Strip, between December 27 and January 18 2009, has caused total destruction in many parts of the Gaza Strip, making these parts look like earthquake zones, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) reported.

Following the IOF withdrawal from Gaza in the early morning of January 18, 2009, PCHR field workers said that IOF intended to erase any civilization features in the Gaza Strip. “They deliberately and systematically destroyed the entire vital facilities to make Gaza go decades back,” a PCHR report issued, Thursday, said.

The most wide-scale destruction by IOF during the reported offensive took place in Gaza City and in northern areas of the Gaza Strip. In Gaza City, the most affected areas were Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood in the south of Gaza City, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Tufah and Al-Shoja'eya neighborhoods in the east of city. While the most affected areas in the northern areas of the Gaza Strip were: Al-‘Atatra area, Jabal al-Rayes area, Jabal Al-Kashef area and Al-Twam area.

During their offensive on the Gaza Strip, IOF damaged and destroyed at least 2,400 houses, 28 public civilian facilities, 21 private projects, 45 mosques, offices of 10 charitable societies, 321 industrial and commercial workshops, 6 factories, 60 police stations, 5 media institutions, 2 health institutions and 29 educational institutions. Israeli troops also razed thousands of dunums of agricultural land (1 dunum= 1000m²).