War in the Middle East
Estimate: $18.5 billion in property damage in Gaza
Destroyed buildings in Khan Yunis after an Israeli airstrike. photo
© Ahmed Zakot/dpa
The Gaza war has been raging for almost six months. The damage to buildings and infrastructure runs into the billions.
According to an estimate by the World Bank and the United Nations, the Gaza war has one in the sealed-off coastal strip Property damage caused in the tens of billions. The institutions estimated the damage to the critical infrastructure in the Gaza Strip at around 18.5 billion US dollars (around 17.2 billion euros), according to a joint report.
According to the information, this corresponds to 97 percent of the gross domestic product in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in 2022. The report recorded damage that occurred between October 2023 and the end of January 2024, it said.
According to the report, damage to residential buildings accounted for 72 percent of the total damage. Almost ten percent of the damage affected non-residential buildings and almost 20 percent affected infrastructure such as roads or electricity and water supplies. The destruction left behind an estimated 26 million tons of rubble and debris during that period, which will likely take years to clear.
The report also looks at the impact on people. More than half of the Gaza Strip’s population is “on the brink of famine” and the entire population is suffering from acute food insecurity and malnutrition. More than a million people are homeless and 75 percent of the population have been displaced. Women, children, older people and people with disabilities are hit hardest by the war.