Rubble in Gaza could take 14 years to clear

In addition to the terrible death toll, hunger, misery and destruction, it could still take the Palestinian people around 14 years to remove the rubble and other debris resulting from the Israeli attacks, which began in October last year.

The information was given by Pehr Lodhammar, senior official at the United Nations Mine Action Service. According to him, there are currently around 37 million tons of material, including unexploded ordnance, in a densely populated area.

According to a BBC survey carried out at the beginning of the year, half of the buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the attacks began.

According to a report by the World Bank and the UN, the costs of damage caused to the region’s infrastructure are estimated at around US$18.5 billion, of which 72% for housing alone. The value is equivalent to 97% of the GDP of Gaza and the West Bank combined.

The Israeli offensive has already left more than 34,000 Palestinians dead and 77,000 injured. Hunger is felt by practically the entire population of Gaza, estimated at 2.3 million people.

In the North of the Gaza Strip, the most critical location, the survey estimates that 70% of the population, or 210 thousand people, are at risk of “catastrophic hunger”, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

The entity also calculates that this degree of hunger — the worst on the scale created to measure such a situation — could affect 1.1 million Palestinians, almost half of the population, by July.

With agencies

(PL)