World Bank Reports Damage to Gaza Critical Infrastructure at $18.5 Bn

Effects of destruction in Khan Yunis after Israel withdrew its ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip (AFP)
Effects of destruction in Khan Yunis after Israel withdrew its ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip (AFP)
TT
20

World Bank Reports Damage to Gaza Critical Infrastructure at $18.5 Bn

Effects of destruction in Khan Yunis after Israel withdrew its ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip (AFP)
Effects of destruction in Khan Yunis after Israel withdrew its ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip (AFP)

The World Bank says the Israel-Hamas war has caused damage of around $18.5 billion to Gaza's critical infrastructure, according to a new report published Tuesday.

This is equivalent to 97 percent of the combined economic output of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022, the World Bank said in its interim damage assessment, which covers the period between the onset of the conflict on October 7 and the end of January.

The report, produced with the United Nations and the European Union, found structural damage affected "every sector of the economy," with more than 70 percent of the estimated costs due to the destruction of housing.

The bloodiest-ever Gaza war erupted with Hamas's October 7 attack, which resulted in about 1,160 mostly civilian deaths in Israel, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,916 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

The Israeli military's heavy aerial bombardment in the aftermath of the attack, and its ongoing ground operations inside Gaza, have reduced many areas of the territory to rubble, creating an estimated 26 million tons of debris.

"For several sectors, the rate of damage appears to be leveling off as few assets remain intact," the Bank said.

Beyond the structural damage, the report also found that more than half of Gaza's population were on the brink of famine, with the whole population "experiencing acute food insecurity and malnutrition."

An estimated 84 percent of Gaza's health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, while three quarters of the population have been displaced by the fighting, leaving more than a million people without homes.

The report, created using remote data collection sources, found that Gaza's water and sanitation system had "nearly collapsed," and was delivering less than 5 percent of its pre-war output.

100 percent of Gaza's children were out of school due to the collapse of the education system, while 92 percent of its primary roads were either destroyed or damaged, according to the World Bank.

The report called for "an increase in humanitarian assistance, food aid and food production; the provision of shelter and rapid, cost-effective, and scalable housing solutions for displaced people; and the resumption of essential services."



Arab League Secretary-General Condemns Israel's Publication of Maps Claiming Arab Lands

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
TT
20

Arab League Secretary-General Condemns Israel's Publication of Maps Claiming Arab Lands

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit has strongly condemned Israel's publication of maps depicting Arab territories in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria as part of its so-called historical claims.
In a statement, Aboul Gheit described the act as deliberate and alarming.

According to SPA, he emphasized that it reflects the Israeli government's deep entrenchment in right-wing extremism and religious fanaticism, and criticized the promotion of "historical myths" as facts.
He highlighted previous declarations by Israeli officials regarding their intent to annex the West Bank and expand settlements into Gaza, stressing that these maps reveal the government’s radical agenda, which threatens regional stability and peaceful coexistence.
The secretary-general urged the international community to take these provocations seriously, warning that ignoring such actions and statements risks inflaming extremist sentiments on all sides.