As the bloody Israel-Hamas war nears the completion of a year, almost all of the Gaza Strip has been reduced to rubble. Now, a recent UN assessment has revealed that clearing the Palestinian enclave of nearly 40 million tonnes of rubble would require over a hundred lorries and take 15 years to complete. The operation is estimated to cost between $500 million (£394 million) and $600 million.
The findings highlight the enormous task of rebuilding the Palestinian territory, which has been devastated by months of a relentless Israeli offensive. According to the UN assessment, a total of 137,297 buildings have been damaged in Gaza, making up more than half of the total present.
Moreover, huge landfill sites covering between 250 and 500 hectares would be necessary to dump the rubble, depending on how much could be recycled. In May, UNDP had said that the total cost of rebuilding could be as much as US$40 billion, Guardian reported. “The actual topography has changed. There are hills where there were none. The 2,000lbs [907kg] bombs dropped [by Israel] are actually altering the landscape,” said a UN official.