According to a report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), it may be well into the 21st century before all the destruction in Gaza from Israel’s invasion and bombardment can be repaired. It points out that the devastation is “unprecedented” and that it has not faced such a difficult task “since World War II”.
The calculations are based on reconstruction efforts after other conflicts and take into account the unprecedented destruction Gaza has suffered in recent months.
The organization points out that nearly seven months of almost continuous Israeli bombardment have caused billions of dollars in damage and reduced a large number of high-rise apartment buildings to rubble.
A UN official is quoted as saying that the extreme destruction has left Gaza looking in some ways like a desolate “moonscape.
– The scale of the destruction is enormous and unprecedented … This is a task the international community has not faced since World War II, said UN Assistant Secretary-General Abdallah al-Dardari.
– Unprecedented levels of human losses, capital destruction, and the steep rise in poverty in such a short period of time will precipitate a serious development crisis that jeopardizes the future of generations to come, Achim Steiner, head of UNDP, said in a statement.
400 billion
Palestinian officials say some 80,000 homes have been destroyed and at least 34,000 people killed – most of them women and children.
The UN estimates that it will take “approximately 80 years to restore all the fully destroyed housing units” – but that it could theoretically happen much faster, depending on international efforts and supplies of building materials.
The cost is expected to be between €28,36 billion and €37 billion.
