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STORY: :: Jabalia, GazaThe once-bustling streets of the Gaza Strip have been transformed into an eerie landscape of dusty craters, twisted wires and crumpled buildings. “All of Gaza is destroyed.” After a year of Israeli bombardment following Hamas' October 7 attacks, the densely populated enclave, with a pre-war population of 2.3 million, has been pulverized. :: Khan Younis, GazaHere in the southern city of Khan Younis, more than 19,000 buildings have been damaged, data from the U.N. satellite center UNOSAT shows.:: Reuters Graphics It is the second worst affected area. The first is northern Gaza.Jihad Shamali, who lost a child in March, has been displaced four times since Israel’s offensive began. “In any city in Gaza you find rubble in the streets. Every street we enter we find rubble. Gaza is not a war, Gaza had an earthquake, worse than war. We’ve been through a grinder. Gaza has been through a grinder this year, the destruction we saw, we’ve never seen in all of history. The other thing, we get the rubble not to build houses, no, but for tombstones and graves - from one misery to another.” Hamas attacked Israeli communities on October 7...:: October 7, 2023:: Obtained by Reuters...killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel says Hamas hides fighters among the general population in Gaza. The militant group denies this. Israel says it will strike Hamas wherever they emerge, while trying to reduce harm to civilians.Palestinian health authorities say more than 41,700 people have been killed since the start of Israel's military campaign.:: Scale of the destructionUNOSAT shows two-thirds of Gaza's pre-war structures have been damaged as Israel tries to eliminate Hamas, that's a total of 163,778 structures.:: Reuters GraphicsEach block in this visualization represents a destroyed or damaged building. If placed altogether, it would look something like this... more than three times as many buildings as those in the New York City borough of Manhattan. And the U.N. estimates that more than 42 million tonnes of debris are piled up in the Strip.That's over 14 times the rubble accumulated in all the conflicts in Gaza since 2008, and enough to fill the Great Pyramid of Giza 11 times.“As you can imagine, the challenges are huge."Alessandro Mrakic is from the United Nations Development Program, part of a group working with local authorities on a pilot project to clear debris.:: Alessandro Mrakic, UNDP"So this will require proper planning, very detailed planning, considering all the - not only the volume but all the risks... It is going to be a massive operation, but at the same time, it's important that we start now because debris removal is a life saving activity at this point.” The U.N. estimates that it would take 14 years and at least $1.2 billion to safely dispose of the rubble – if the war stopped now.:: Health and safety risksBut the scale of the destruction is only one of the challenges. :: Reuters GraphicsConflict debris differs from normal, controlled construction and demolition waste as it contains unrecovered bodies - in this case as many as 10,000 according to the Palestinian health ministry - and unexploded bombs.And the dust produced can be contaminated with heavy metals from munitions and household or industrial chemicals. All pose huge health and safety risks.“I can give you a 100 percent assurance that people are being exposed to massive amounts of pollutants, metal contamination in water, in air and food.” Mozhgan Savabieasfahani is an environmental toxicologist who has worked extensively in Iraq. :: Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, Environmental toxicologist“Those kinds of exposures will end up the causing all kinds of DNA damage in mothers' reproductive cells, in fathers' reproductive cells. And that would culminate in a horrific rise in birth defects in children in Gaza.” The contents of busted sewage pipes underneath the debris can contaminate water supplies and provide an environment for disease-transmitting insects or a home for snakes and scorpions. The rubble is also a good environment for sandflies, which can spread skin infections.:: AsbestosThe United Nations Environment Program, or UNEP, estimates that 2.3 million tonnes of the debris generated in this conflict could be contaminated with asbestos. :: Reuters GraphicsIt is mainly found in the older buildings and structures of Gaza’s eight crowded refugee camps - some of which have been hit.With prolonged exposure, the asbestos fibers are inhaled and over time can cause diseases including lung, larynx and ovarian cancers and fibrosis of the lungs, according to the World Health Organization. Experts say asbestos-related diseases usually take 10 to 50 years to emerge. :: Challenges:: U.N./Louise WateridgeThe path ahead is also littered with practical difficulties. U.N. experts say Gaza lacks the 1,300 acres of land needed to store all the rubble.And landfills are now in an Israeli military zone. Israel's military unit COGAT said they were in a restricted area but access would be granted. Government officials report fuel and machinery shortages as Israeli restrictions slow clear-up efforts. Israel did not specifically comment on these allegations.The UNEP says it will need owners' permission to remove rubble. But the scale of the destruction has blurred property boundaries, and some property records have been lost in the war.Asked about the debris, COGAT said it aims to improve waste handling and will work with the United Nations to expand efforts. Several donors have expressed interest in rebuilding Gaza. But a U.N. official who asked to remain anonymous told Reuters that "everyone is concerned whether to invest if there is no political solution in place.”
