'Worse than starting from scratch': how big is the task of rebuilding Gaza?

18 minutes ago Share Save Paul Brown , Kayleen Devlin , Erwan Rivault and Barbara Metzler BBC Verify Share Save

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As thousands of Gazans made the journey back to their neighbourhoods following the ceasefire, many of them already knew their homes were in ruins. The prospect of rebuilding homes, businesses and all the institutions and services needed for a return to normal life in Gaza is daunting by any measure: the UN estimates that the damage amounts to $70bn. As Prof Andreas Krieg, a Middle East security expert from King's College London, says: "It's worse than starting from scratch - here you aren't starting in the sand, you are starting with rubble." The level of destruction on the strip is "now in the region of 84%. In certain parts of Gaza, like in Gaza City, it's even up to 92%", says Jaco Cilliers, UN Development Programme special representative for the Palestinians. This damage has created colossal amounts of rubble. Assessments by BBC Verify based on recent satellite data suggest there could be over 60 million tonnes of debris waiting to be cleared in Gaza. Any process of post-conflict reconstruction must begin by clearing the remnants of war.

Clearing the rubble

Drone footage shows vast destruction in Gaza City

The many millions of tonnes of rubble now littering the Gaza Strip are not just piles of concrete and twisted metal.