Research conducted by the United Nations has revealed the extensive damage inflicted on civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli bombardments.
A joint assessment by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) describes the destruction caused by Israeli occupation forces as “unprecedented,” likening it to the devastation seen during the Second World War.
Speaking from the UN Headquarters in New York via teleconference, Abdallah Al Dardari, Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States for the UNDP, highlighted the significant regression in development in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and al-Quds (Jerusalem) due to Israeli military attacks over the past seven months. He emphasized that Gaza alone has regressed by more than 40 years, erasing decades of progress.
“When we say Human Development Index regressed by 40 years, we are talking about all the gains in schools, years of schooling, educational attainment, health, life expectancy at birth, and GNP per capita, having regressed to those levels of the 1980s,” Dardari stated.
The estimated loss from this destruction amounts to “an investment of $50 billion.”
Israeli military actions have relentlessly targeted the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of approximately 35,000 Palestinians, with a majority being women and children. More than 75,000 others have been injured, many critically. The UN estimates that at least 10,000 Palestinians are missing, presumed dead under the rubble of flattened residential areas.
As of April 12, Israeli occupation forces had killed or injured five percent of Gaza’s population, according to the UNDP.
The UN agency highlights the necessity of removing “37 million tons of debris” to restore any semblance of normalcy to Gaza, enabling space for temporary shelters and vital infrastructure. The research reveals that 72 percent of all housing in Gaza has been destroyed.
