Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid is getting in to meet the needs of desperate Palestinians.
At just 41 kilometres long (25.4 miles) and two to five kilometres wide (1.2 to 3.1 miles), few places in the Gaza Strip had been left unscathed by the constant Israeli bombardment before the latest ceasefire came into effect haltingly last Friday.
According to the UN Development Programme Special Representative for the Palestinians, Jaco Cilliers, destruction across the enclave "is now in the region of 84 per cent. In certain parts of Gaza, like in Gaza City, it's even up to 92 per cent."
$20 billion needed now
Speaking from Jerusalem, the UNDP 's Mr. Cilliers highlighted the findings of the latest Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) on Gaza by the UN, the European Union and the World Bank, which estimated the damage at $70 billion.
To kickstart the massive operation, some $20 billion will be required in the next three years alone, he told journalists in Geneva.
The UN development agency is present in Gaza alongside humanitarian partners to provide immediate support to the enclave's 2.1 million people.
