UN: Gaza destruction 'unprecedented' since WWII
5 Min Read
The UN assessment said that the social and economic impact of the war was increasing enormously.
-
Palestinian children look at the destruction caused by an Israeli air strike on their home in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, April 30, 2024 (AFP)
The UN has reported unprecedented devastation in Gaza that has not been seen since World War II, and that rebuilding homes destroyed by Israeli bombing and military operations would take at least until 2040 if the fighting ended today.
The UN assessment said that the social and economic impact of the war was increasing enormously, describing the level of human losses, amounting to 5% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people, as “unprecedented” in such a short time.
In April, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, compared Gaza now and Germany during World War II, saying that "Israel" has exposed areas in the Gaza Strip to greater destruction than that dealt to cities in Germany back in the 1940s.
During his speech at a plenary session of the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, Borrell cited the climbing casualties of the war on Gaza, saying, “I can say that more than 60% of the physical infrastructure has been damaged, and 35% fully destroyed.”
The organization added that by mid-April, more than 33,000 Palestinians had been killed and over 80,000 were injured as nearly 7,000 are still missing or under the rubble.
The health ministry revealed in its latest report on Friday that the number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Strip since October 7 has now reached 34,622, with 77,867 injured.
The Director of the United Nations Development Programme, Achim Steiner, posted on X that every additional day that the war adds "immeasurable" cost to humans.
The report issued by the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Economic Commission for West Asia paints a bleak picture of the struggle for survival in Gaza, with 201,000 jobs lost since the start of the war and the economy shrinking by 81% in the last quarter of 2023.
New findings from @UNDP and @UNESCWA reveal the toll of the #Gaza war:
— Achim Steiner (@ASteiner) May 2, 2024
➡️poverty rates soaring to 58.4%,
➡️GDP plummeting by 26.9%
➡️Nearly 1.74 million more people pushed into poverty.
The human cost is immeasurable & immediate action is vital. https://t.co/WwXXDO43Rv pic.twitter.com/IOat9sEUoY
80 years and $40bln needed for Gaza reconstruction: UNDP
Abdallah al-Dardari, the UN assistant secretary-general and director of the UN Development Program’s (UNDP) regional office for the Arab states, stated that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip could take 80 years and $40 billion.
Speaking at a conference in Amman, Jordan, al-Dardari said the damage caused by "Israel" in Gaza has not been seen since the Second World War.
“The scale of the destruction is huge and unprecedented…This is a mission that the global community has not dealt with since World War II,” he stated, noting that reconstruction estimates could very possibly exceed $30 billion and reach $40 billion.
Currently, Gaza is buried beneath 37 million tons of rubble that only keeps piling on due to the occupation's relentless and deliberate destruction.
According to the UN official, reconstructing Gaza's fully destroyed complexes to rehabilitate it would take up to 80 years, assuming the pace equals that during previous wars in the Strip. It is worth noting that 72% of residential buildings have either been completely or partially destroyed over seven months since the occupation launched its onslaught.
Al-Dardari called on the international community to prioritize a meticulous housing plan for Gaza, which should reportedly be achieved in the first three years following the end of the war.
"Israel", according to the UNDP director, bombed Gaza back to the 1980s, destroying at least four decades' worth of international investments.
Over 10,000 people under rubble in Gaza, years to retrieve bodies: UN
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that over 10,000 people remain buried under the rubble in the Strip, seven months into the ongoing genocidal war launched by the Israeli occupation last October.
The UN Aid Coordination Office, OCHA, stated that "with the current primitive tools available, it might require up to three years to recover the bodies," warning that rising temperatures are expected to accelerate the decomposition of bodies, heightening the risk of disease transmission and increasing concerns about public health.
Entire residential neighborhoods and areas have been completely destroyed by "Israel" since October, the UN aid office said, noting that Gaza was bombed "from the air, land, and sea."
The Palestinian Civil Defense said that many martyrs are trapped under rubble and on roads inaccessible to ambulances and civil defense crews due to lack of means and equipment, in addition to the occupation preventing rescue teams from reaching victims' positions.
The Civil Defense urged in a statement earlier this week that UN agencies and all relevant stakeholders urgently intervene to allow the entry of needed equipment, including bulldozers and excavators, to avert a public health catastrophe, facilitate dignified burials, and save the lives of injured people.
