Gaza's Huge Reconstruction Challenge: Key Facts and Figures

Palestinians remove the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli strikes, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinians remove the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli strikes, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Gaza's Huge Reconstruction Challenge: Key Facts and Figures

Palestinians remove the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli strikes, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Palestinians remove the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli strikes, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild Gaza when the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas ends, according to assessments from the United Nations.

Here is a breakdown of the destruction in Gaza from the conflict prompted by the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by militants led by the then Hamas rulers of the long-besieged Palestinian enclave, according to Reuters.

HOW MANY CASUALTIES ARE THERE?

The Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliation has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and injured around 95,000, according to the Gaza health ministry.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO CLEAR THE RUBBLE?

The United Nations has warned that removing 40 million tonnes of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel's bombardment could take 15 years and cost between $500-600 million.

The debris is believed to be contaminated with asbestos and likely holds human remains. The Palestinian health ministry estimated in May that 10,000 bodies were missing under the rubble.

HOW MANY HOMES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED?

Rebuilding Gaza's shattered homes will take at least until 2040 but could drag on for many decades, according to a UN report released in May.

Palestinian data shows that about 80,000 homes have been destroyed in the conflict.

According to the United Nations, at least 1.9 million people across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including some uprooted more than 10 times. The pre-war population was 2.3 million.

WHAT IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE?

The estimated damage to infrastructure totals $18.5 billion, affecting residential buildings, commerce, industry, and essential services such as education, health, and energy, a UN-World Bank report said.

Gaza City has lost nearly all its water production capacity, with 88% of its water wells and 100% of its desalination plants damaged or destroyed, Oxfam said in a recent report.

HOW WILL GAZA FEED ITSELF?

More than half of Gaza's agricultural land, crucial for feeding the war-ravaged territory's hungry population, has been degraded by conflict, satellite images analysed by the United Nations show.

The data reveals a rise in the destruction of orchards, field crops and vegetables in the Palestinian enclave, where hunger is widespread after 11 months of Israeli bombardment.

WHAT ABOUT SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES, RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS?

A report from the Gaza Government Media Office in August enumerated the damage to public facilities. The conflict led to the destruction of 200 government facilities, 122 schools and universities, 610 mosques, and three churches.

Amnesty International's Crisis Evidence Lab has highlighted the extent of destruction along Gaza's eastern boundary. As of May 2024, over 90% of the buildings in this area, including more than 3,500 structures, were either destroyed or severely damaged.



Family Returns to their Lebanese City to Find a Crater Where their 50-year-old Home Once Stood

Family Returns to their Lebanese City to Find a Crater Where their 50-year-old Home Once Stood
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Family Returns to their Lebanese City to Find a Crater Where their 50-year-old Home Once Stood

Family Returns to their Lebanese City to Find a Crater Where their 50-year-old Home Once Stood

In eastern Lebanon's city of Baalbek, the Jawhari family gathered around a gaping crater where their home once stood, tears streaming as they tried to make sense of the destruction.

“It is heart-breaking. A heartache that there is no way we will ever recover from,” said Lina Jawhari, her voice breaking as she hugged relatives who came to support the family. “Our world turned upside down in a second.”

The home, which was a gathering place for generations, was reduced to rubble by an Israeli airstrike on Nov. 1, leaving behind shattered memories and twisted fragments of a once-vibrant life.

The family, like thousands of Lebanese, were returning to check on their properties after the US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect early Wednesday.

Intense Israeli airstrikes over the past two months leveled entire neighborhoods in eastern and southern Lebanon, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut. Nearly 1.2 million people have been displaced.

The airstrikes have left a massive trail of destruction across the country.

A photo of the Jawhari family's home — taken on a phone by Louay Mustafa, Lina’s nephew — is a visual reminder of what had been. As the family sifted through the rubble, each fragment recovered called them to gather around it.

A worn letter sparked a collective cheer, while a photo of their late father triggered sobs. Reda Jawhari had built the house for his family and was a craftsman who left behind a legacy of metalwork. The sisters cried and hoped to find a piece of the mosque-church structure built by their father. Minutes later, they lifted a mangled piece of metal from the debris. They clung to it, determined to preserve a piece of his legacy.

“Different generations were raised with love... Our life was music, dance, dabke (traditional dance). This is what the house is made up of. And suddenly, they destroyed our world. Our world turned upside down in a second. It is inconceivable. It is inconceivable," Lina said.

Despite their determination, the pain of losing their home and the memories tied to it remains raw.

Rouba Jawhari, one of four sisters, had one regret.

“We are sad that we did not take my mom and dad’s photos with us. If only we took the photos,” she said, clutching an ID card and a bag of photos and letters recovered from the rubble. “It didn’t cross our mind. We thought it’s two weeks and we will be back.”

The airstrike that obliterated the Jawhari home came without warning, striking at 1:30 p.m. on what was otherwise an ordinary Friday.

Their neighbor, Ali Wehbe, also lost his home. He had stepped out for food a few minutes before the missile hit and rushed back to find his brother searching for him under the rubble.

“Every brick holds a memory,” he said, gesturing to what remained of his library. “Under every book you would find a story.”