New UN report
Gaza destruction: “Not seen since 1945”
According to the UN development agency UNDP, Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip have caused the worst destruction of a region since the Second World War. The reconstruction of the Gaza Strip could take at least until 2040.
"We haven't seen anything like this since 1945 - since the Second World War. This intensity in such a short time and the enormous scale of destruction," said local UNDP director Abdallah al-Dardari on Thursday.
The destruction in the Gaza Strip is greater than in Ukraine: seven months after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the United Nations estimates the amount of rubble at 37 million tons. "There is more rubble in the Gaza Strip than in Ukraine," said Mungo Birch, head of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), to journalists in Geneva on Wednesday. The Gaza Strip is only 40 kilometers long and the front in Ukraine is almost 1000 kilometers long.
Asbestos and unexploded ordnance everywhere
But the huge amount of rubble is not the only problem: according to UNMAS, there are many unexploded bombs among the rubble. "Unexploded ordnance makes removal difficult," said Birch. According to general estimates, ten to 15 percent of the shells fired during fighting do not explode - a long-term danger for the civilian population.
Asbestos also makes evacuation more complicated. "We estimate that there are more than 800,000 tons of asbestos in the rubble," said Birch. The mineral fiber, which was once used extensively, is carcinogenic and special precautions are needed when handling it.
Demining service needs more funds
The UN demining service hopes to be able to defuse the explosive devices in the Gaza Strip with its own teams. "But we are still in the planning phase," said Birch. UNMAS has already received five million dollars (4.7 million euros) for the defusing work. "But to continue the work over the next twelve months, we need another 40 million dollars." Hundreds of millions of dollars will be needed over the years to clear all the rubble.
The main players met two weeks ago in the Jordanian capital Amman to plan how the Gaza Strip can be freed from the enormous mountains of rubble. The UN Development Program (UNDP) is coordinating the evacuation. "The problem is that the mass of rubble is unprecedented. We will have to develop new ideas on how to proceed with the evacuation," said Birch. According to UNMAS, 65 percent of the destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are residential buildings. It would take 100 trucks 14 years to remove all the rubble.
Much remains in the dark
The fighting is still ongoing and it is also difficult for UN staff in the Gaza Strip to get an accurate picture of the extent of the destruction and the amount of unexploded ordnance. "Anecdotal reports suggest that things are particularly bad in the north," said Birch. "It's going to be a big problem for a long time."
Kommentare
Liebe Leserin, lieber Leser,
die Kommentarfunktion steht Ihnen ab 6 Uhr wieder wie gewohnt zur Verfügung.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
das krone.at-Team
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.