The United Nations warned on Monday that it would require billions of dollars to rebuild Gaza after the 15-month-long war between Israel and Hamas.
A ceasefire between the two sides took effect on Sunday, bringing an end to the devastating conflict that has ravaged the Gaza Strip and further fueled tensions across the Middle East.
According to Israeli sources, the Hamas attacks on Israel led to 1,200 fatalities, while Israel’s retaliatory strikes have resulted in over 46,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The UN’s damage assessment, released this month, highlighted the monumental task of clearing the debris left by Israel’s bombardment, with over 50 million tonnes of rubble estimated to take 21 years to clear at a cost of up to 1.2 billion dollars.
The debris is feared to be contaminated with asbestos, and some refugee camps affected by the conflict are known to have been constructed using this material.
Additionally, the rubble likely contains human remains, with the Palestinian Ministry of Health estimating that 10,000 bodies are still trapped under the debris.
The UN Development Programme stated on Sunday that Gaza’s development had been set back by 69 years due to the war.
A UN report from 2024 projected that the rebuilding of Gaza’s homes would take at least until 2040, with the process potentially extending for many decades.
According to UN satellite data (UNOSAT), approximately two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings, over 170,000 structures, have been damaged or destroyed.
This includes 245,123 housing units, leaving over 1.8 million people in need of emergency shelter.
The damage to infrastructure has been estimated at 18.5 billion dollars by the end of January 2024, affecting essential services such as healthcare, education, and energy.
The UN humanitarian office also reported that less than 25% of Gaza’s pre-war water supply is currently operational, and nearly 70% of the road network has been damaged.
Furthermore, more than half of Gaza’s agricultural land has been destroyed by the ongoing conflict, leading to widespread hunger.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported in 2024 that over 95% of Gaza’s cattle and nearly half of the sheep have died or been slaughtered due to the war.
The conflict has also led to the destruction of over 200 government buildings, 136 schools, 823 mosques, and three churches.
While some hospitals have been damaged, only 17 out of 36 medical units were partially functional as of January 2024.
Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab documented extensive destruction along Gaza’s eastern border, where over 90% of buildings, including 3,500 structures, were either destroyed or severely damaged as of May 2024.
