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World Bank estimates damage to Gaza critical infrastructure at $18.5 bn

Emergency responders dig through the rubble of a building after an Israeli strike on a house in Lebanese town of Marjayoun on April 5, 2024, during a cross-border exchange between Lebanon and Israel. (Photo: AFP)

By AFP | 05 Apr 2024

The Israeli military's heavy aerial bombardment in the aftermath of the attack, and its ongoing ground operations inside Gaza, have reduced many areas of the territory to rubble.

The World Bank says the Israel-Hamas war has caused damage of around $18.5 billion to Gaza's critical infrastructure, according to a new report published Tuesday.

This is equivalent to 97 per cent of the combined economic output of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022, the World Bank said in its interim damage assessment, which covers the period between the onset of the conflict on October 7 and the end of January.

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The report, produced with the United Nations and the European Union, found structural damage affected "every sector of the economy," with more than 70 per cent of the estimated costs due to the destruction of housing.

The bloodiest-ever Gaza war erupted on October 7. At least 32,916 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, according to the Gaza health ministry. 1,160 mostly civilian deaths have been reported in Israel, according to an AFP tally.

The Israeli military's heavy aerial bombardment in the aftermath of the attack, and its ongoing ground operations inside Gaza, have reduced many areas of the territory to rubble, creating an estimated 26 million tons of debris.

"For several sectors, the rate of damage appears to be leveling off as few assets remain intact," the Bank said.

Beyond 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 per cent of its pre-war output.

100 per cent of Gaza's children were out of school due to the collapse of the education system, while 92 per cent 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."