Gaza's reconstruction estimated at $90bn: El-Sisi
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A UN analysis indicated last month that if the war immediately stopped, it would take until 2092 to restore Gaza's GDP levels in 2022.
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Palestinians stand amid the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on March 6, 2024 (AFP)
The Gaza Strip's recovery from the damage caused by Israeli bombardment is now estimated at $90 billion, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stated on Saturday.
Speaking in Cairo, El-Sisi explained that "The cost of rebuilding the Gaza Strip amounts to $90 billion."
El-Sisi said that Egypt “refuses to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip to Sinai, and will not give up its land, and will protect it within its borders that have been inherited for thousands of years.”
Egypt is “making every effort to protect and provide relief to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” stressing that it will not hesitate to work to achieve a ceasefire and bring in aid," El-Sisi claimed.
Destruction in Gaza 'unprecedented': WHO spokesperson
Last month, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic stated that the war on Gaza has inflicted "unprecedented destruction", Anadolu reported.
Speaking to Anadolu, Jasarevic said that the war has caused unparalleled levels of destruction, with 70 to 80% of civilian infrastructure, including houses, hospitals, schools, and water and sewage facilities, destroyed or seriously damaged.
Jasarevic stated that it will take decades to rehabilitate Gaza's infrastructure, especially the health sector, which is barely surviving.
Jasarevic pointed out that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development predicts it will take tens of billions of dollars and decades to reverse the overall financial harm, including rebuilding the health system, which is "on its knees," further stating that “only 13 out of 36 hospitals are partially or minimally functioning in Gaza."
He cited a UN analysis that indicated that if the war immediately stopped, it would take until 2092 to restore Gaza's GDP levels in 2022.
Read more: In an act of 'domicide', 'Israel' wholly destroyed 3 Gazan quarters
In December, analysts who spoke to the Associated Press stated that 'Israel's' war on Gaza is currently among the bloodiest and most devastating in recent history.
In just two months, the occupation destroyed more than what was seen as a result of the battle in Syria's Aleppo between 2012 and 2016, Ukraine's Mariupol, or the Allied bombardment of Germany during World War II and killed more people than the fight against ISIS.
Destruction exceeds two-thirds of buildings
Tens of thousands of residences, as well as schools, hospitals, mosques, and supermarkets, are included. According to UN observers, almost 70% of Gaza's school buildings have been destroyed. At least 56 destroyed schools housed displaced residents. According to the monitors, Israeli attacks destroyed 110 mosques and three churches.
According to Robert Pape, a U.S. military historian, from 1942 to 1945 allies destroyed 10% of buildings in Germany, compared to 33% in Gaza.
Pape detailed that “Gaza is one of the most intense civilian punishment campaigns in history,” calling it one of the most "devastating bombing campaigns ever.”
In 2017, the US destruction in Iraq's Mosul killed 10,000 civilians according to AP. During the three years the Iraqi Army and its allies were engaged in their invasion, they carried out a total of 15,000 strikes compared to the 22,000 strikes the Israeli occupation has carried out in Gaza so far.
