Israel Gaza war: Never seen such devastation! It will take 16 years to rebuild Gaza, billions of rupees will be needed - UN

The report by UNDP and the United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia paints a dire picture of the struggle for survival in Gaza, where 201,000 jobs have been lost since the war began and the economy is set to decline by 81 percent in the last quarter of 2023. 

Israel Gaza war

A shocking update regarding war-torn Gaza has emerged in a United Nations (UN) report on Thursday. The UN said on Thursday that the world has not seen anything like the destruction in Gaza since the Second World War. Not only this but if the war ends today, it will take at least till 2040 to repair the houses destroyed in Israeli bombings and ground attacks.

The UN assessment says that the social and economic impact of the war, which began after a surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, is increasing rapidly. It said that by mid-April, more than 33,000 Palestinians had been killed and more than 80,000 were injured. About 7,000 other people are missing, most believed buried under the debris.

A terrible picture of the conflict

UN Development Program Administrator Achim Steiner said that Gazans and all Palestinians are suffering huge losses every day as this war continues. The report by UNDP and the United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia paints a dire picture of the struggle for survival in Gaza, where 201,000 jobs have been lost since the war began and the economy is set to decline by 81 percent in the last quarter of 2023. Has come.

Abdullah Al Dardari, UNDP Regional Director for Arab Countries, said at a UN press conference launching the report that it is estimated that approximately US$50 billion of investment in Gaza has been destroyed in the conflict, and 1.8 million Palestinians are left in poverty. have fallen.

Facing unemployment

Gaza has been under blockade by Israel and Egypt since the Hamas takeover in 2007, imposing strict controls on entry and exit from the territory. Even before the war, it faced high unemployment of 45 percent, reaching almost 63 percent among young workers.

According to the report, the UN Human Development Index, which measures key issues for a long and healthy life, gaining knowledge, and achieving a decent standard of living, has been pushed back by more than 20 years in Gaza.

Gaza's GDP decreased by 51 percent

The report said the base of the economy has been destroyed, with sectors suffering losses of more than 90 percent. It is estimated that Gaza's GDP may decline by 51 percent in 2024. It says the scope and scale of the damage is unprecedented and is still increasing as the war continues. The report said at least 370,000 housing units were damaged in Gaza, of which 79,000 were destroyed.

It will take time till 2040 to build houses

Following previous Israel-Hamas conflicts, housing was rebuilt at the rate of 992 units per year. Even if Israel allows a five-fold increase in construction materials in Gaza, it will take until 2040 to rebuild the destroyed houses, without repairing the damaged houses.

Al Dardari said there were 2.4 million tons of debris in Gaza after 51 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas in 2014. The current war, he said, already has 37 tons of debris that needs to be removed to make room for temporary shelters and other structures that are vital to bringing back normalcy for Palestinians in Gaza.

This has not been seen since the Second World War

He said that we have not seen anything like this since 1945, since the Second World War. We have never seen destruction on such a rapid and large scale in such a short period. Al Dardari said a preliminary estimate of the cost of the three-year early recovery program, which would return hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to temporary shelters in their places of origin with community support, is between US$2 billion and US$3 billion.

Meeting with 22 UN agencies

He said the rough estimate for the overall reconstruction of Gaza is between US$40 billion to US$50 billion. But Al Dardari stressed that the immediate focus now is on planning a quick recovery. The senior UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, and other officials met on Thursday with 22 UN agencies and reviewed each's plans for the initial years after the war ends, she said.