Gaza City

Even if the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza was to end today, it would take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes that have been destroyed so far, said the United Nations in a report, on Thursday (May 2). 

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Around 16 years to rebuild homes in Gaza: UN

With nearly seven months of Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza, images and videos show most of the Palestinian enclave turned to rubble. The rebuilding of Gaza would also cost around $30 billion to $40 billion and require an effort on a scale the world has not seen since World War II, said a UN official. 

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The report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) details the damage to Gaza’s infrastructure and the socio-economic impact since the beginning of the war triggered by Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel. 

It also estimates the impact of the war at six months, with estimates of what would happen if the war were to continue. “Every additional day that this war continues is exacting huge and compounding costs to Gazans and all Palestinians,” said UNDP administrator Achim Steiner.

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According to the report at least 370,000 housing units in Gaza have been damaged, including 79,000 destroyed completely. The rate of housing after the previous Israel-Hamas conflicts was 992 units per year. 

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The report noted that even if Israel allows a five-fold increase of construction material to enter the blockaded Palestinian enclave, it would take until 2040 to rebuild destroyed houses, without fixing the damaged ones.

Cost of rebuilding and impact on economy

The UNDP estimates the cost of reconstruction of Gaza to surpass $30 billion and could reach up to $40 billion, said UN Assistant Secretary-General Abdallah al-Dardari, as per AFP. 

“The scale of the destruction is huge and unprecedented...this is a mission that the global community has not dealt with since World War II,” he added. 

According to the UNDP report, the Israeli offensive has virtually shut down the economy in Gaza which around 81 per cent in the last quarter of 2023. The “productive basis of the economy has been destroyed,” with sectors experiencing losses of more than 90 per cent, the report noted. 

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If the war were to continue for nine months, according to the UNDP projections, the poverty is estimated to more than double with over 1.86 million being pushed into poverty.

In 2024, the Palestinian economy – which includes both Gaza and the West Bank – contracted nearly 26 per cent and if the war continues until July, that number would reach 29 per cent with the estimated losses of $7.6 billion, according to the report. 

“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,” said Steiner. 

Gaza, which is home to around 2.3 million people, has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since Hamas’ 2007 takeover with strict control on what enters and exits the territory. 

(With inputs from agencies)