Gaza: $70 billion needed to rebuild shattered enclave, says UN

UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid is getting in to meet the needs of desperate Palestinians.

At just 41 kilometres long (25.4 miles) and two to five kilometres wide (1.2 to 3.1 miles), few places in the Gaza Strip had been left unscathed by the constant Israeli bombardment before the latest ceasefire came into effect haltingly last Friday.

According to the UN Development Programme Special Representative for the Palestinians, Jaco Cilliers, destruction across the enclave “is now in the region of 84 per cent. In certain parts of Gaza, like in Gaza City, it's even up to 92 per cent.”

$20 billion needed now

Speaking from Jerusalem, the UNDP’s Mr. Cilliers highlighted the findings of the latest Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) on Gaza by the UN, the European Union and the World Bank, which estimated the damage at $70 billion.

To kickstart the massive operation, some $20 billion will be required in the next three years alone, he told journalists in Geneva.

The UN development agency is present in Gaza alongside humanitarian partners to provide immediate support to the enclave’s 2.1 million people.

This includes providing clean water, emergency employment, medical supplies, solid waste removal and making homes and public spaces safe by clearing rubble potentially hiding unexploded ordnance or the many thousands of missing Palestinians.

“We've already removed about 81,000 tonnes. That is about…3,100 truckloads,” Mr. Cilliers explained. “The majority of the debris removal is to provide access to humanitarian actors so that they can provide the much-needed aid and support to the people in Gaza. But we also help with hospitals and other social services that need to be cleared of debris.”

The UNDP official pointed to “very good indications” from potential donors in support of reconstruction from Arab States, but also from European nations and the United States “which has also indicated that they are going to be coming in supporting some of the early recovery efforts”.

Immediate aid essential

Important as reconstruction is for Gaza’s long-term future, UN humanitarians once again clamoured for the Israeli authorities to open all access points into Gaza, after the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages were freed on Monday and Palestinian prisoners were released from Israel.

The development followed the signing of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel signed on Monday evening in Sharm El-Sheikh by US President Donald Trump, and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkïye.

Earlier on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the release of all living hostages from Gaza, two years since they were among some 250 taken during Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023.

Gaza City testimony

Speaking to UN News from Gaza, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) aid worker Tess Ingram described the story of one family displaced five times by the war:

“I met a family today, Mustafa and Syeda and their children, and they told me that they were among the lucky ones because while Mustafa was pulling rubble out from the building, that is their home, at least he said, we have a home.”

The family was relieved on Monday at the appearance of a water truck, Ms. Imgram told us: “But they live in fear that truck might not turn up today or tomorrow. She also can't get the medicine she needs and her sons had to walk a really long way today just to buy the basics that she needed to make some bread.

“Families need absolutely everything right now. We need the hundreds of trucks a day that were promised to get into the Gaza Strip.”

Hostage remains

On Tuesday, the focus shifted to the transfer from Gaza of all deceased hostages, an extremely difficult process overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It remains unclear how many deceased hostages will be transferred by Hamas.

“When it comes to the living hostages or Palestinian detainees - and believe me that's a big issue for us – we actually don't know, we know that we have to be ready,” said ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon, adding that the complex search is getting underway today.

In the meantime, needs in Gaza remain enormous and “fluid”, aid teams report, with more than 300,000 Palestinians heading north to Gaza City since Friday, as the ceasefire agreement seemed to hold.

“The enthusiasm that came from the international community, from people on the ground that this was the beginning of the end of all the suffering and things would change rapidly, is just not being reflected on the ground, day in and day out. We are not getting enough aid in,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Ricardo Pires.

The Israeli authorities have agreed to allow 190,000 tonnes of relief supplies into Gaza and UN agencies and their partners are scaling up operations rapidly, but a far greater amount is needed overall, humanitarian agencies including the UN aid office, OCHA, have said repeatedly.

“Of course, we are advocating with everyone, and we were there in Sharm El- Sheikh yesterday as well, with 22 heads of state of government, who we are asking to help us push all buttons you can to get this up and running as soon as possible,” said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke.

Aid hub carnage

Aid teams continue to insist that there needs to be a move away from handing out lifesaving supplies from remote areas including non-UN aid hubs that are difficult to reach and where hundreds of Palestinians have been shot or injured.

“Most of the actors – ICRC included – were not able to organize sufficient distribution of aid inside Gaza,” said Mr. Cardon. “And what we’ve seen instead, it’s people coming back from distribution sites being wounded, if not killed, in many instances…It's about aid coming to the people and not any more people going to the aid.”