AMMAN — The Gaza Strip, a territory just 41 kilometres long and between two and five kilometres wide, has been left almost unrecognisable after two years of Israeli bombardment.

 

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), destruction across the enclave now stands at 84 per cent, reaching as high as 92 per cent in parts of Gaza City.

 

The figures were released days after a fragile ceasefire came into effect, halting Israeli military operations that followed the October 7, 2023.

 

The scale of devastation was outlined in the Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) conducted by the UN, the European Union, and the World Bank.

 

The assessment estimates total damage across Gaza at $70 billion, making the enclave one of the most heavily destroyed territories in modern history.

 

To begin even minimal recovery, at least $20 billion will be required over the next three years alone.

 

Inside Gaza, UN agencies and humanitarian partners are attempting to provide emergency support to the enclave’s 2.1 million residents.

 

Efforts include clean water distribution, medical supplies, emergency employment programmes, waste removal, and clearing rubble that may conceal unexploded ordnance or the remains of missing Palestinians.

 

So far, around 81,000 tonnes of debris, equivalent to more than 3,100 truckloads, have been removed, primarily to reopen access routes for humanitarian convoys and to clear hospitals and other essential services.

 

But humanitarian agencies warn that current aid flows remain dangerously inadequate.

 

More than 300,000 Palestinians have returned north towards Gaza City since the ceasefire appeared to hold, only to find entire neighbourhoods flattened and basic services non-existent.

 

UN officials have once again urged Israeli authorities to open all access points into Gaza, stressing that reconstruction is meaningless without large-scale humanitarian access.

 

Despite Israel’s agreement to allow 190,000 tonnes of relief supplies into the Strip, UN agencies say far more is required to meet even basic needs.

 

Families returning to the ruins are surviving on intermittent water deliveries, struggling to access medicine, and walking long distances to obtain basic food supplies. Entire communities remain without shelter, sanitation, electricity, or reliable healthcare.

 

Humanitarian officials say the optimism that followed the ceasefire announcement has not translated into real improvements on the ground.

 

While the UN reports “very good indications” of donor support from Arab states, Europe, and the US, humanitarian officials stress that pledges mean nothing without full humanitarian access.

 

With up to 92 per cent of Gaza City destroyed, $70 billion in damage, and millions still without stable access to food, water, medicine, or shelter, Gaza’s future now hinges not on reconstruction promises — but on whether aid is allowed to reach the people who need it.