‘This is our land’ – Building Gaza’s future from the wreckage of war

At night he sleeps under a tarpaulin sheet on the ruins of his family home. Like others returning to northern Gaza after months of being displaced by war, Sufian Al-Majdalawi clings to whatever he can find.

Using small tools and his bare hands, he sifts through mounds of twisted debris and dirt to try and unearth belongings and important paperwork such as property deeds to prove he is the legal owner.

He dreams of one day being able to rebuild; in the short-term, he hopes that even the rubble might hold some value.

The war in Gaza has left an unprecedented level of destruction, with an estimated 51 million tons of rubble blanketing the landscape where bustling neighborhoods once thrived.

According to a new UN damage and needs assessment report, over 60 per cent of homes – amounting to some 292,000 – and 65 per cent of roads have been destroyed, across the approximately 360 square kilometre enclave.

As the international community ponders Gaza’s future and how to rebuild, Al-Majdalawi is sure of one thing: “We will not leave. That will not happen. This is our land.’’

Moving cautiously through the rubble, Yasser Ahmed says: “I am looking for my papers.” His desperate search is made even more daunting because adjacent structures have collapsed in on each other. “Maybe while I am removing the rubble, I will find a human body, an explosive device,’’ he adds, underlining the huge emotional and physical risks of dislodging debris in a war zone.

Working with Palestinian authorities, UN development and environmental agencies and non-governmental organizations are looking at how to safely clear the rubble so that families can rebuild.

With a fragile ceasefire in place, regional talks are underway on rebuilding Gaza after 16 months of conflict. Next Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres heads to Cairo for a reconstruction summit called by Arab leaders.

Meanwhile, UN staff are drawing on similar experiences in Mosul, Iraq, and the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Latakia, all decimated by war.

UNOPS, a UN agency that provides infrastructure, procurement and project management services around the world, is part of Gaza’s ‘Debris Management Working Group.’

The agency has conducted threat and risk assessments throughout the Territory, and has developed advanced GeoAI and remote sensing techniques, including 3D modeling technologies, to enhance explosive hazard evaluation and rubble removal strategies.

UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva, following a recent trip to Gaza, says explosive hazard education had been provided to 250,000 Palestinians and some 1,000 humanitarian workers, providing “critical knowledge to stay safe and navigate explosive hazards effectively.”

UNDP, which helps countries reduce poverty, build resilience and achieve sustainable development, started removing rubble from Gaza in December 2024, weeks before a ceasefire began.

UNDP’s Sarah Poole says about 28,500 tons of rubble were initially removed, and 290 tons of it used for roadworks to enhance humanitarian operations, restoring access to sites such as a hospital, a bakery and a critical water supply plant.

Poole describes the issue of land and property ownership in Gaza as “very complex” – particularly when title deeds, inheritance records and other legal documents are lost or destroyed.

Amjad Al-Shawa, Director of the network of NGOs in the Gaza Strip, says the issue of rubble represents a “major challenge.’’

“We need a mechanism to dispose of the rubble which will take a long time, and which requires resources that are not available in the Gaza Strip,’’ he says.

“Today, this rubble also represents the possessions of the residents. Many disputes may arise between families.’’

Some $7 million has already been made available from various donors to aid the rubble removal – but Poole says an additional $40 million is needed “in this initial phase in order to significantly scale up the work.”

“The issue of access and the ability to bring in some of the heavy equipment that is needed is also absolutely essential,” he adds.

The challenge ahead looks daunting: Once-thriving neighborhoods have been leveled – very little remains. In this Territory where people turning 18 have already lived through five massive armed conflicts, the destruction this time is significantly worse.

The cost of the damage to physical infrastructure has been estimated at some $30 billion, according to the UN. The housing sector was the hardest hit, with losses amounting to $15.8 billion. The costs of recovery and reconstruction are estimated at over $53 billion.

“There is no residential life here. I look around and see nothing but destruction,’’ says Ahmed, standing in front of the wreckage of his house. “The hard work of 59 years – the number of years of my life – was lost, and everything is gone.’’

“Everything is under the rubble,’’ he says. “I miss my home … a person is only comfortable in his home and his own place.”

Nearby, Ramadan Katkat sits on the remnants of his home. Living in tents precariously perched atop mounds of rubble, he echoes the despair felt by many: Beneath them could lie a perilous mix of unexploded devices and human remains.

His wish? “We want to live.’’

Al-Majdalawi is adamant, though: “We are capable of rebuilding the land.”