During the Arab Nations Emergency Summit on the Middle East situation and Gaza reconstruction held in Cairo, Egypt, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared that the Israeli genocidal war in the enclave has left an unprecedented level of destruction.

Guterres stated in his speech that “the war in Gaza has left an unprecedented level of destruction, with an estimated 51 million tons of rubble covering the landscape where bustling neighborhoods once thrived”.

According to the United Nations’ Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA), over 60 percent of the housing (approximately 292,000 homes) and 65 percent of the roads have been destroyed in the enclave, which spans around 360 square kilometers.

The assessment also highlights severe damage in key sectors such as housing, health, education, commerce, and agriculture, with 95 percent of hospitals non-functional and an 83 percent economic contraction.

IRDNA estimates that around $53.2 billion will be needed for the recovery and reconstruction of the enclave over the next decade, with $20 billion required in the first three years to restore essential services, rebuild infrastructure, and support economic recovery.

The high-ranking UN official emphasized that the reconstruction of the war-devastated territory must also be guided by principles that respect international law and prevent new cycles of violence. “The true foundation of recovery in Gaza will be more than concrete and steel,” he affirmed.

“It will be dignity, self-determination, and security. This means staying true to the foundations of international law. It means rejecting any form of ethnic cleansing. And it means forging a political solution,” Guterres said at the summit held last Tuesday.

EN ESTA NOTA: