GENEVA - UN experts* today expressed grave concern about the Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, documenting housing and infrastructure destruction on an historic scale.
"More than 371,000 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, approximately 1.9 million people have been displaced, often repeatedly, and over 60 per cent of the population remains homeless. Yet, the report is shockingly silent on the most obvious conditions required for any reconstruction in Gaza to commence or succeed," the experts said.
"The occupation must end, and the dispossession and discrimination against Palestinians must stop if rebuilding is to have any real chance of success," they said.
The joint Assessment identifies housing as the hardest-hit sector, with overall reconstruction needs estimated at more than $71 billion. The experts have long stressed that this level of destruction amounts to an unprecedented denial of the right to adequate housing, emphasising that international law prohibits the arbitrary destruction of homes and requires immediate, rights-based reconstruction responses.
According to the Assessment, vulnerable groups bear the heaviest burden. The findings highlight that women, particularly female-headed households and widows, face compounded barriers to accessing housing, land and property rights. Due to the lack of adequate shelter and overcrowding, they lack privacy and dignity. Furthermore, persons with disabilities encounter severe accessibility barriers in shelters and reconstruction efforts, and older persons are disproportionately affected by displacement, the loss of community networks and limited access to essential services.
"The data confirms a pattern of structural discrimination that reconstruction efforts must urgently correct rather than reproduce," the experts said.
Reconstruction should be guided by the draft Guiding Principles for Reconstruction, which restate the legal obligations of States and other actors under international law, including human rights and humanitarian law.
Reconstruction must be inclusive, participatory, transparent and accountable, with Palestinians shaping decisions, reflecting the broader principle of self-determination, an inalienable right that the Palestinian People have under international law.
"The Assessment fails to ask who will be in charge of reconstruction and whether the Board of Peace itself is consistent with international law," the experts said.
The draft Guiding Principles for Reconstruction stress that displacement caused by conflict or destruction demands remedy and reparation, affirming that victims of violations must receive effective redress. Reconstruction processes must address structural barriers and inequalities, end occupation and prevent renewed displacement.
The experts expressed concern that the Assessment does not appear to embed human rights principles, instead emphasising financial needs and infrastructure rebuilding in a manner that risks reducing housing to mere shelter provision, rather than ensuring dignity, security and long-term sustainability.
"Without explicit safeguards, reconstruction processes may become a race for profits, driven by real estate interests associated with the Board of Peace, while excluding vulnerable groups," they warned.
The experts urged States, international organisations and donors to ensure that human rights are at the core of the reconstruction of Gaza.
"Reconstruction is not only about rebuilding structures - it is about restoring rights, dignity and equality," the experts said. "Failure to align with international human rights standards risks entrenching injustice and prolonging the suffering of Palestinians for generations."
