Gaza needs 15 years, $600M to clear rubble caused by Israeli attacks, says UN

It will take 15 years for Gaza to be cleared of rubble by a flotilla of 100 trucks, according to a report based on a U.N. assessment, The Guardian revealed.

According to the report, Gaza is covered with more than 40 million tons of rubble, which will take 15 years to clear. On the other hand, it was stated that the cost of this is $600 million.

In addition, 1,235 acres of land is needed to bury the non-recyclable rubble. On the other hand, in Khan Younis, one of the areas where the Israeli attacks were felt intensely, there is no place left undamaged.

Conflict erases decades of development in Gaza

However, the 2,000 kilograms (4409.2 pounds) bombs dropped on the Gaza Strip changed the geographical structure of the city, creating hills and uneven terrain in many areas that did not exist before. It was also reported that 10 percent of the shells, missiles and bombs fired at Gaza did not explode.

In May, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) projected that rebuilding homes in Gaza destroyed during the war could extend until 2040, with total reconstruction costs reaching up to $40 billion, according to the report.

This assessment, part of a fundraising effort for early rehabilitation, warned that the conflict could revert health, education, and wealth levels in Gaza to those of 1980, erasing 44 years of development.

Since October 7, 2023, more than 38,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and more than 89,100 injured, according to local health authorities. Over 9 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast areas of Gaza are in ruins, suffering under a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.