Media coverage
Al-Ittihad (Abu Dhabi) · 2026-08-18
Omar Shaban, director of PALTHINK for Strategic Studies in Gaza, said the Strip’s population has fallen from 2.2 million to 1.8 million and that residents are effectively confined to only about 60 square kilometres after excluding uninhabitable areas, with density in some places reaching 30,000 people per square kilometre. He added that the health and humanitarian situation is extremely dangerous, with thousands of wounded people and cancer patients and around 36 hospitals destroyed, while Gaza’s Government Media Office warned of a worsening shelter crisis for more than 2.15 million displaced people as winter approaches.
Omar Shaban, director of PALTHINK for Strategic Studies in Gaza, said the Strip’s population has fallen from 2.2 million to 1.8 million and that residents are effectively confined to only about 60 square kilometres after excluding uninhabitable areas, with density in some places reaching 30,000 peo…
Ahmed Murad (Gaza, Cairo)
Palestinian researcher Omar Shaban, director of the PalThink for Strategic Studies Foundation in Gaza, revealed that the population of the Strip has declined from 2.2 million to 1.8 million people. This large population is confined to only 30% of the Strip’s area, equivalent to 108 square kilometers, noting that if demolished buildings, streets, cemeteries, and factories that have ceased operations are excluded, only about 60 square kilometers would remain for the السكان.
Shaban said, in a statement to Al Ittihad, that the population density in some areas of the Strip, such as the Al-Mawasi area, reaches 30,000 people per square kilometer, which constitutes “a recipe for death,” amid the spread of diseases and epidemics, the proliferation of rats and insects, and the absence of any healthcare.
He pointed out that around 10,000 wounded people need treatment outside the Strip, in addition to the presence of 8,000 women suffering from cancer, of whom between 5 and 7 die daily due to the lack of treatment and the absence of hospitals capable of providing the necessary care.
Shaban reported that the war destroyed around 36 hospitals across various areas of Gaza, while the healthcare facilities currently operating are limited to field hospitals, some of which may not be equipped to perform complex surgical operations, further severely complicating the health and humanitarian situation in the Strip.
The Palestinian researcher said: “The challenges in Gaza remain numerous, diverse, and immense, and they are constantly evolving and have not yet ended, because the war is still ongoing despite the peace agreement. Since the ceasefire in mid-October 2025 until now, the number of victims has reached about 1,400, in addition to between 4,000 and 5,000 wounded, as well as the destruction of dozens of homes.
## Shelter Crisis
The Government Media Office in Gaza warned yesterday of the worsening shelter crisis facing more than 2.15 million displaced people in the Strip as winter approaches, noting that around 867,000 people are currently living in primitive and dilapidated tents that are no longer fit for habitation.
It said: “The conditions of the displaced require urgent intervention to provide safe shelter, warning of the risks they may face with falling temperatures and rainfall during the winter season.”
Text © Al-Ittihad (Abu Dhabi) — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source