Gaza debris removal requires unimpeded access to fuel, machinery
Technical teams from the United Nations Development Programme estimate it will take seven years to clear most of the rubble in Gaza, and only under the right conditions. These include receiving unimpeded access, uninterrupted fuel supplies, heavy machinery, and sustained international support.
Margunn Indreboe, deputy special representative of the administrator for UNDP, said the operation is currently collecting about 5,000 tonnes of debris every day in Gaza, with two crushing machines processing about 2,000 tonnes daily.
“What we do with the crushed materials is we reuse it for humanitarian access,” she told Al Jazeera. “So we rehabilitate roads, we rehabilitate sites for displaced people. We work with organisations like World Central Kitchen, with UNICEF, with WFP, so that they are able to then establish their operations in a safe place.”
People inspect the site where at least four Palestinians died following the collapse of walls onto tents sheltering displaced people in Gaza City
Israeli gunfire kills Palestinian child in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya
Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya area, according to a local medical source cited by our colleagues on the ground. This brings the total number of people killed by Israeli forces in Gaza today to three, following earlier attacks that killed a girl and an elderly woman.
The person shot dead by Israeli forces in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya was 16-year-old Mohammad Raed al-Barawi, according to the Wafa news agency. The boy died “instantly” after being shot in the head by Israeli forces, said the agency.
‘Catch-up’ vaccination campaign in Gaza to begin on Sunday: Ministry
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has announced the resumption of a “catch‑up” vaccination campaign aimed at strengthening the national immunisation programme for children under the age of three.
“The campaign will begin next Sunday, January 18, and will last for 10 days,” the ministry said. “The campaign will be conducted through 130 health centres affiliated with the Ministry of Health, UNRWA, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, and local and international organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.”
‘Nothing’s changed’: Gaza City resident expresses frustration as Israel continues attacks amid ceasefire
From his tent in Gaza City, Mahmoud Abdel Aal said residents were frustrated and worried because nothing had changed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the US-brokered ceasefire’s second phase.
“There is no difference between the war and the ceasefire, nor between the first and second phase of the deal: strikes continue every day,” Abdel Aal told the AFP news agency. “Everyone is worried and frustrated because nothing’s changed.”
Most residents interviewed by AFP said they were sceptical about recent announcements regarding the formation of the so-called “Board of Peace”, an entity chaired by Trump and supposed to oversee reconstruction, and a Palestinian technocratic committee with which it is to work.
“No one is concerned for us,” said Hossam Majed, who is living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City. “The whole world meets in Cairo to talk about Gaza, but they can’t even enter it,” he told AFP. “Israel will use the pretext of handing over the last body [of a captive], then the weapons [of Hamas], and the second phase will stretch over additional years,” he said.
Hamas returned 47 of 48 captives it was supposed to hand over under the terms of the first phase, and has yet to commit to disarming as is planned under the second phase.
Palestinians in Gaza City survive in flimsy tents amid winter cold
