Rebuilding Gaza could take 80 years, UN rapporteur says
Gaza needs 80 years to reconstruct all the homes and buildings destroyed by Israel in the besieged territory over the past year, says a UN rapporteur.
United Nations housing expert Balakrishnan Rajagopal said Saturday that by January this year, between 60% and 70% of homes in Gaza had been destroyed.
The northern areas, he said, are facing an even higher destruction rate of 82%.
"The situation is much worse now," according to Rajagopal who said the destruction in the north is nearing 100% now.
The regime’s unprecedented bombardment has left an estimated 42 million tons of debris piled where houses, mosques, schools and shops used to stand.
The rubble is mixed with unexploded ordnance, toxic waste, asbestos from collapsed buildings, and other materials, Rajagopal said. He said that groundwater and soil contamination has reached a catastrophic level.
The World Health Organization had warned that large amounts of dust released from destroyed buildings are releasing hazardous materials that float into the air or seep into water supplies, risking serious health problems for Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
Experts say the cost of rebuilding Gaza is increasing exponentially each day the regime’s unprecedented bombardment of the territory continues.
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