The war in the Gaza Strip has caused “unprecedented” destruction, the UN said on Thursday. This statement comes at a time when Hamas’ response to a proposed truce with Israel is awaited, casting doubt on a possible agreement after almost seven months of conflict. Israel and the mediating countries are still awaiting a response from the Islamist movement to a proposal for a forty-day truce associated with the release of hostages held in Palestinian territory, in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.
From 30 to 40 billion dollars
In the absence of progress, Israel is continuing its deadly offensive launched on October 7 after an unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas on Israeli soil. At least 28 people were killed in twenty-four hours, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health. Bombings targeted the north, center and south of the territory besieged by Israel, largely transformed into a field of ruins.
Reconstruction is expected to cost between $30 and $40 billion, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) estimated on Thursday. “The scale of the destruction is enormous and unprecedented (…) This is a mission that the international community has not faced since the Second World War,” declared the director of the regional office for the Arab States of UNDP, Abdallah al-Dardari.
Concerns for civilians
Israel, for its part, says it is determined to continue the war until “total victory” over Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union. To achieve this objective, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to launch, “with or without” a truce agreement, a ground offensive on Rafah, the last major bastion according to him of Hamas, where a million and a half Palestinians are crowded together, in majority displaced by the war.
Many capitals and humanitarian organizations fear heavy civilian losses, in the absence of a plan deemed credible to protect the population.