Study: $80 billion to rebuild Gaza and $700 million to remove rubble | Economy

The government media office in Gaza warned of a humanitarian disaster facing two million displaced Palestinians in different areas of the Strip with the onset of winter.

The government office said that 74% of the displaced people’s tents have become unusable and that 100,000 tents out of 135,000 need immediate and urgent replacement due to their deterioration.

The government office indicated that Israel’s closure of the crossings prevented the entry of nearly a quarter of a million tents and caravans.

The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza has caused massive destruction, with more than a million people losing their homes, according to World Bank data. Nearly 90% of health facilities have been completely or partially destroyed, and schools and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, turning it into the largest rubble area in the world.

Earlier, a study by the American Rand Corporation revealed that rebuilding the Gaza Strip would cost more than $80 billion, and that removing the rubble alone would cost more than $700 million.

The study concluded:

• The war on Gaza left behind 42 million tons of rubble, enough to fill more than 1.3 million trucks.
• The cost of removing the rubble and debris is more than $700 million and will take several years.
• The rubble removal process is complicated by the presence of unexploded bombs, mines, rockets, dangerous contaminated materials and bodies still under the rubble, as well as the difficulties of finding sites to dispose of all that contaminated rubble.

She pointed out that:

• More than 70% of Gaza’s housing was damaged, either completely or partially, along with hospitals, other facilities, factories, workshops and companies.
• The war has led to social destruction, tearing families apart and leaving more than 17,000 children orphaned.
• Tens of thousands of families have lost their breadwinners, with the International Labour Organization estimating that 25% of those killed in Gaza were men of working age.