Tons of rubble in the streets: This is the cost of rebuilding Gaza

Gaza Reconstruction

 

Tons of rubble in the streets... This is the cost of rebuilding Gaza

With the streets of the Gaza Strip littered with rubble and debris, as well as hundreds of bodies covered in the devastation, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) stated that the estimated cost of rebuilding Gaza amounts to $70 billion.

During a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, Jacques Cilliers said that estimates indicate there are at least 55 million tons of rubble in the Strip. However, he emphasized that the program already has "very good indications regarding funding for Gaza's recovery from Arab countries, European partners, and the United States." The UN official also explained that the reconstruction process could take a decade or more.

193,000 buildings completely destroyed

For his part, a Palestinian official from the Gaza municipality indicated that Israel destroyed approximately 95% of the trucks and heavy equipment in the Strip. He added that 193,000 buildings were completely destroyed as a result of the war, and 16 hospitals are now operating with limited capacity.

50 Million Tons

The spokesman also noted that approximately 50 million tons of rubble from residential buildings and industrial facilities have accumulated in the streets of Gaza City alone, as a result of the Israeli war over the past two years, according to DPA. He added that approximately 90% of the streets in the Strip's administrative center are destroyed. The Palestinian official stressed that the priority now is to remove the rubble and debris from the city's streets so that reconstruction can begin.

It is worth noting that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, US President Donald Trump, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a ceasefire agreement for Gaza yesterday in Sharm el-Sheikh. More than 30 leaders from Arab and Western countries also participated in the summit. The participants called for the implementation of the next stages of Trump's plan to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip, including the rehabilitation of the infrastructure in the Strip, devastated after two years of bloody war.