Gaza has suffered more than $3B in losses in transport sector: Minister

Gaza's transportation sector has suffered more than $3 billion in losses in the past seven months due to Israel's war against the enclave, Minister of Transportation and Communications Tareq Zarab said Sunday.

Zarab's remarks came during a presentation at a session of the Cabinet in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement viewed by Anadolu.

"The committees of the Ministry of Transportation estimate the destruction by the (Israeli) occupation forces of about 55,000 vehicles in the Gaza Strip, which is equivalent to 60% of the licensed vehicles in the Strip," said Zarab.

He added that the losses in the transportation sector include infrastructure and citizens' properties such as vehicles.

He further noted that the occupation destroyed about 945 kilometers (587 miles) of roads in Gaza, which is equivalent to 65% of the road network, at a cost exceeding $2 billion.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 34,400 Palestinians have since been killed and thousands injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.