Latest news with #IRDNA
Saudi Gazette
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Gaza ‘dying of thirst' as water collapse deepens humanitarian crisis
GAZA — The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) on Saturday warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, declaring that water and sanitation systems have nearly collapsed amid Israel's ongoing offensive. The authority described the besieged enclave as 'a region dying of thirst,' accusing Israel of committing a 'grave and systematic war crime by using thirst and starvation as tools of genocide.' According to the PWA, water extraction in Gaza has declined by 70 to 80 percent since the war began. 'Current water consumption has dropped to an alarming 3–5 liters per person per day—far below the World Health Organization's emergency minimum of 15 liters,' it said. An Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) found that 85% of Gaza's water and sanitation facilities have suffered severe damage. The PWA added that power outages, fuel shortages, and military restrictions have paralyzed efforts to restore critical infrastructure. 'Wastewater systems are non-functional, resulting in the discharge of untreated sewage into residential areas and overflowing stormwater basins—posing grave public health threats,' it stated. With access to clean water dwindling, many Gazans are resorting to brackish agricultural wells, which the authority warned is leading to widespread exposure to waterborne PWA urged the international community to act immediately to stop what it called 'a deliberate and systematic campaign to exterminate the civilian population of Gaza through thirst, hunger, and disease.'Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, told Anadolu Agency earlier this week that cutting off water to civilians is akin to 'dropping a terrible silent bomb on them... silent but lethal.'Citing UNICEF data, Arrojo-Agudo noted that cases of diarrhea among children under five in Gaza surged from 40,000 to more than 70,000 in a single week in early resumed its military campaign in Gaza on March 18, breaking a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement reached on January 19. Since the war began in October 2023, more than 52,800 Palestinians — mostly women and children — have been killed, according to health authorities in International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice. — Agencies
Al Jazeera
19-02-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
More than $50bn needed to rebuild Gaza after Israel's war on enclave
Reconstruction efforts in Gaza will require more than $50bn after 15 months of Israel's devastating war, according to a new assessment by the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank. The figures come as Arab countries continue to scramble to find a viable recovery plan as an alternative to the mass displacement of the Palestinian enclave's 2 million residents proposed by United States President Donald Trump. The Gaza & West Bank Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA), published on Tuesday, calculated that Israel's war on Gaza caused $49bn in destruction between October 8, 2023 and October 8, 2024. Researchers concluded that $53.2bn is now needed for the recovery and reconstruction of the Palestinian territory over the next 10 years, with about $20bn of the full amount required in the first three years alone. 'Funding will require a broad coalition of donors, diverse financing instruments, private sector resources, and significant improvements in the delivery of reconstruction materials to Gaza in the post-conflict period,' the joint report states. More than half the total estimated cost of rebuilding, or $29.9bn, is needed for damaged buildings and other key infrastructure, while funds to replenish Gaza's destroyed residential housing stock form the bulk of that figure – $15.2bn. Housing suffered the most during Israel's 15-month-long attack on the territory, with the report writers estimating that it accounted for 53 percent of the total destruction wrought by Israeli forces in Gaza, amounting to more than 292,000 homes destroyed or damaged. Another $19.1bn is required to make up for social and economic losses resulting from severe damage to Gaza's health, education, commerce and industry sectors, the report estimates. The researchers also state that 95 percent of Gaza's hospitals are now non-functional, while the local economy has contracted by 83 percent. The IRDNA is a follow-up to the Interim Damage Assessment (IDA) published by the UN, EU and World Bank in April 2024, which estimated about $18.5bn in damages after just four months of Israel's war. Years of clearing unexploded ordnance and removing millions of tonnes of rubble also lie ahead as part of the reconstruction efforts. An uncertain future The report's findings come amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with the Israeli military accused of carrying out repeated violations of the truce since it came into effect on January 19. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also failed to rule out a return to war in the coastal enclave if Hamas does not continue to return all the captives it holds there. The report's authors therefore cautioned that conditions are not yet in place for large-scale recovery and reconstruction work to begin given the lack of clarity over Gaza's future, not least how it will be governed. 'The speed, scale, and scope of recovery will be shaped by these conditions,' the report states. Since returning to the White House in late January, Trump has said he would 'take over' and 'own' Gaza, which involves emptying the Strip of its inhabitants and transforming the territory into what Trump described as the 'Riviera of the Middle East'. As part of this plan, Trump has said he would permanently displace 2 million Palestinian people. He has pressured both Jordan and Egypt to take in those who are forced out of Gaza. Netanyahu has expressed strong support for Trump's proposal, and his government announced on Monday that it had formed a special directorate for the 'voluntary departure' of Palestinians from the coastal enclave. Egypt is leading the way on an alternative Arab-led reconstruction plan that would keep Gaza's population in their homeland. On Monday, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said Cairo is 'actively developing a comprehensive, multi-phase plan for Gaza's early recovery and reconstruction'. Crucially, Cairo says the plan would not require Gaza's population to be displaced. Instead, 'secure areas' would be established where Palestinians can live, while dozens of Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate the Strip's war-torn infrastructure. That plan may see up to $20bn provided by Arab and Gulf states towards reconstruction efforts, the Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday, citing two anonymous Egyptian security sources with knowledge of the matter. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will travel to the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, on Thursday to discuss the plan before an Arab summit will be held in Cairo on March 4 to potentially finalise the proposal, Reuters said. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was waiting to evaluate Egypt's plan. But he reiterated Israel's long-held stance that any plan in which Hamas continued to have a political or military presence in Gaza would not be acceptable.
CBC
18-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
More than $50 billion US needed to rebuild devastated Gaza strip: World Bank joint report
Social Sharing More than $50 billion US will be required to rebuild Gaza after Israel's 15-month campaign against Hamas levelled it, according to an assessment released Tuesday by the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank. The Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) said that $53.2 billion US is needed for recovery and reconstruction over the next 10 years, with $20 billion US needed in the first three. Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza was launched in response to the Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent operation has killed more than 48,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, displaced 1.9 million people and left the enclave in ruins. Years of rebuilding work, including clearing unexploded ordinance and millions of tonnes of rubble, lie ahead. The report, issued amid a fragile ceasefire that began last month, warned that conditions were not yet in place for large-scale recovery and reconstruction work to begin, given a lack of clarity about how the enclave would be run after the war and what security arrangements would be in place. "The speed, scale and scope of recovery will be shaped by these conditions," the report said. Housing and infrastructure half of rebuilding costs The IRDNA said that more than 292,000 homes had been destroyed or damaged and 95 per cent of hospitals were non-functional, while the local economy had contracted by 83 per cent. More than half the total estimated cost of rebuilding, or $29.9 billion US, would be required to repair damage to buildings and other infrastructure, including housing, which would require around $15.2 billion US to rebuild, it said. Another $19.1 billion US would be needed to make up for social and economic losses, including health, education, commerce and industry sectors devastated in the conflict, it said. "The recovery and reconstruction needs identified in this IRDNA report are vast," the report states. "Funding will require a broad coalition of donors, diverse financing instruments, private sector resources, and significant improvements in the delivery of reconstruction materials to Gaza in the post-conflict period." On Tuesday, some construction equipment was also allowed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, crucial for progressing the cleanup. Mobile homes for Gazans whose homes were destroyed and have nowhere to shelter in the winter weather were also sitting on trucks at the crossing on Tuesday, poised to enter the enclave. An Israeli official said Israel will start allowing them to be brought into Gaza. Hamas had accused Israel of delaying the delivery of these mobile homes and had threatened to postpone the release of hostages until the issue was resolved. Restoring services is step one The first priority, the report stated, will be social services such as health and education, as well as basic services in the water, telecom and energy sectors. As the rubble is cleared away, special care will need to be taken as bodies emerge from underneath destroyed homes and buildings, the report added. Palestinian health authorities estimate that up to 10,000 people are buried under the debris in Gaza. Gaza's economy will also need to be rebuilt as well — the enclave's contribution to the overall Palestinian economy dropped down to three per cent in 2024, the report estimates, despite the Gaza Strip making up 40 per cent of the Palestinian population across the Palestinian territories. The assessment was performed in co-ordination with the Palestinian Authority, which oversees the occupied West Bank. It also looked at spillover effects in the West Bank between October 2023 and October 2024, and found that the West Bank had suffered increased violence in that time period in the form of settler violence and increased Israeli military incursions into residential areas.
