Rebuilding Gaza to cost $71bn, must include Palestinians, report finds
Rebuilding the enclave will cost seven times the combined cost of all past offensives, report says. Rebuilding Gaza will cost seven times more than all
Rebuilding the enclave will cost seven times the combined cost of all past offensives, report says. Rebuilding Gaza will cost seven times more than all previous rebuilding efforts in Gaza combined in the last two decades, according to a new joint Oxfam report. The devastation from more than two years of war has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians, injured 173,000 and displaced 1.9 million. It has left the Gaza Strip needing an estimated $71.4bn to recover, according to the UN-EU-World Bank Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) released in April. Human development has been set back by 77 years according to the new report by Oxfam, the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) and the Palestine Trade Centre (PalTrade), which asserts that the rebuilding of Gaza cannot move forward without direct Palestinian involvement. “Reconstruction is not only a humanitarian task; it is a political one. A plan designed in foreign capitals, however well-funded, would be a cosmetic exercise – simply another form of control over Palestinian land and lives. Our consultations across Gaza carried one unmistakable message: nothing about our future without us,” Misyef Jamil, senior researcher at MAS, said. How much will it cost to rebuild Gaza? In April, the Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) estimated it will cost more than $71.4bn over the next 10 years for recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
That report estimated that Gaza had suffered $57.9bn in total damage and economic losses. It also found that $26.3bn will be required in the first 18 months of Gaza’s reconstruction to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support its economic recovery. To put $71.4bn into perspective, it’s enough to fund the construction of nearly 48 Burj Khalifas, the world’s tallest building. This is seven times the combined construction following each Israeli military offensive in Gaza over the past two decades, according to Oxfam, which compared recovery-needs assessments across Gaza’s major wars since 2008. What is the scale of destruction and human toll? The report outlines the level of destruction to housing, education and healthcare as well as the impact on the cultural and social fabric that has been erased as a result of the loss of mosques, museums and other cultural landmarks. According to the report and OCHA 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged There are 66 million tonnes of rubble – equivalent to the mass of 11 Pyramids of Giza More than 50,000 people need long-term rehabilitation 83 percent of people with disabilities were forced to abandon their assistive devices More than 58,000 children have lost one or both parents 55 percent of hospitals are not functioning 93 percent of school buildings have been damaged or destroyed Before reconstruction can begin, an estimated 66 million tonnes of rubble must be cleared.
The BriefWire