The UN estimated this Thursday that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, ravaged by almost seven months of war between Israel and Hamas, will cost between 30,000 and 40,000 million dollars and will require an unprecedented effort since World War II.
“Initial estimates by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip exceed $30 billion and could reach $40 billion,” said Abdallah al Dardari, director of the regional office for the United States. Arabs of the UNDP, at a press conference in Amman.
“The magnitude of the destruction is enormous and unprecedented (…) It is a mission that the international community has not been confronted with since the Second World War,” added al Dardari, who also serves as deputy secretary general of the UN. The official estimated that if reconstruction is carried out through the normal process, it could “take decades and the Palestinian people cannot afford to wait decades.”
“It is important that we act quickly to relocate the population to decent places and restore their normal life in economic, social, health and educational terms,” said al Dardari, for whom this must be achieved “in the first three years after the cessation of hostilities. The senior official estimated that the total debris from the bombings and explosions reaches 37 million tons and that “72% of residential buildings have been totally or partially destroyed.”
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