World Bank estimates cost of rebuilding Gaza at US$485 million after Hamas-Israel conflict
- Israel carried out waves of air strikes during the 11-day conflict in Gaza in May and Palestinian militants fired thousands of rockets
- The World Bank report says it will take up to US$380 million to repair the physical damage alone, with more required for other recovery needs
Rebuilding Gaza after the latest devastating war between Israel and the territory’s militant Hamas rulers will cost up to US$485 million, the World Bank said.
The report says it will take up to US$380 million to repair the physical damage alone, with more required for other recovery needs. Israel carried out waves of air strikes during the 11-day conflict in May and Palestinian militants fired thousands of rockets, most of which were intercepted. More than 260 people were killed, the vast majority of them Palestinians.
Gaza has been under a crippling Israeli and Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinians forces in 2007 and is still scarred from three previous wars between Israel and the Islamic militant group.
The World Bank said the war caused up to US$190 million in economic losses, in a territory where unemployment already hovered around 50 per cent. It says over 4,000 homes were demolished or partially damaged.
“This is yet another unfortunate episode in which the Palestinian people in Gaza saw themselves in the midst of conflict and destruction,” said Kanthan Shankar, the World Bank director for the West Bank and Gaza.
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The report, carried out with the United Nations and the European Union, was released on Tuesday.