UN warns Gaza rubble removal may take more than seven years
The executive director of the UN Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, has said the volume of rubble in Gaza has exceeded 60 million tonnes and removing it may take more than seven years.
Following a visit to Gaza, da Silva described the scale of the destruction as unbelievable, stressing that it affected homes, schools, clinics, and water and electricity networks.
He explained that 60 million tonnes of rubble is equivalent to the load of about 3,000 container ships.
Satellite images reveal 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings damaged
Piles of broken concrete, twisted metal and the remains of shattered homes, as far as the eye can see. This isn’t an isolated pocket of destruction – it’s a pattern repeated across the Gaza Strip.
Satellite images show 80 percent of buildings have been at least partially damaged or completely razed by more than two years of Israeli bombardment.
The destruction has created an estimated 61 million tonnes of rubble. That would fill New York City’s Central Park with debris 12 metres (about 39 feet) deep. It’s roughly the same weight as 13 Great Pyramids of Giza.
The rubble isn’t just an obstacle – it’s dangerous. Aid groups warn it may contain unexploded ordnance, toxic materials and unstable structures that could collapse at any moment.
And the technocratic committee wants to push it into the sea...
