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A recent report from the World Bank highlights the extensive damage inflicted on Gaza’s critical infrastructure due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The report, published on Tuesday, indicates that the war has resulted in approximately $18.5 billion worth of damage to key infrastructure in Gaza.
According to the World Bank’s interim damage assessment, conducted in collaboration with the United Nations and the European Union, this figure amounts to a staggering 97 percent of the combined economic output of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022. The assessment covers the period from the onset of the conflict on October 7 to the end of January.
The report underscores the widespread impact of the structural damage, which has affected “every sector of the economy.” Housing destruction accounts for over 70 percent of the estimated costs, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in the region.
The conflict, marked by Hamas’s initial attack on October 7, resulted in significant casualties on both sides. Israeli official figures, as reported by AFP, indicate approximately 1,160 civilian deaths in Israel, while the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reports at least 32,916 fatalities, primarily among women and children.
Israel’s military response, characterized by heavy aerial bombardment and ongoing ground operations within Gaza, has left many areas of the territory in ruins, with an estimated 26 million tons of debris created as a result.
The repercussions of the conflict continue to reverberate, underscoring the urgent need for humanitarian assistance and efforts to rebuild Gaza’s devastated infrastructure.
“For several sectors, the rate of damage appears to be leveling off as few assets remain intact,” the Bank said.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBeyond the structural damage, the report also found that more than half of Gaza’s population were on the brink of famine, with the whole population “experiencing acute food insecurity and malnutrition.”
An estimated 84 percent of Gaza’s health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, while three quarters of the population have been displaced by the fighting, leaving more than a million people without homes.
The report, created using remote data collection sources, found that Gaza’s water and sanitation system had “nearly collapsed,” and was delivering less than 5 percent of its pre-war output.
100 percent of Gaza’s children were out of school due to the collapse of the education system, while 92 percent of its primary roads were either destroyed or damaged, according to the World Bank.
The report called for “an increase in humanitarian assistance, food aid and food production; the provision of shelter and rapid, cost-effective, and scalable housing solutions for displaced people; and the resumption of essential services.”
With inputs from AFP