Latest news with #InterimRapidDamageandNeedsAssessment
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
Jordan Times
25-02-2025
- Health
- Jordan Times
WHO hails Gaza polio campaign but warns on US pullout
A Palestinian child receives a polio vaccine at a makeshift clinic in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on February 23, 2025, a day after the third mass polio vaccination campaign began in Gaza, with the aim of delivering the first dose to nearly 600,000 children across the Palestinian territory (AFP photo) GENEVA — The polio vaccination drive in Gaza is exceeding expectations, the WHO said Tuesday as it warned of the impacts of US funding cuts and pleaded for ramped-up medical evacuations. Speaking from Gaza, Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization's representative in the Palestinian territories, gave an update on a fresh polio child vaccination campaign, and an overview of the health and funding situation in the Gaza Strip. Poliovirus, most often spread through sewage and contaminated water, is highly infectious and potentially the disease resurfaced in Gaza for the first time in over 20 years, paralysing a 10-month-old child last August, two vaccination rounds took place in September and October reached more than 95 per cent of the children targeted with the necessary two doses of the oral environmental samples from two sites, collected in December 2024 and January 2025, found poliovirus was still circulating.A new polio vaccination campaign targeting 591,000 children under 10 began on Saturday. Nearly 548,000 have been reached so far, WHO cold and rainy conditions, parents brought their children to vaccination centres."That's a remarkable achievement, and personally I didn't think we would reach that," said Peeperkorn, citing high enthusiasm for the first two rounds.A fourth round of vaccinations is planned in four weeks' time. Medical evacuations Between February 1 and 24, some 889 patients, including 335 children, were evacuated via the Rafah crossing into total number of patients evacuated since October 2023 is 6,295, including 4,640 WHO estimates that 10,000 to 14,000 critical patients need medical evacuation, including more than 4,000 hoped medical evacuations to Jordan would begin soon, and pleaded for expanded medical corridors, including the pre-war traditional referral pathway to hospitals in the West Bank and East Jerusalem would resume, "otherwise we will be medevacing for years to come". Money and US WHO pullout The Gaza and West Bank Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, conducted earlier this month jointly by the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union, estimated that $7 billion will be needed to repair the territory's devastated health amount was split between reconstruction costs and service delivery needs, with more than $4 billion needed in the first three years, it WHO's 2025 operational response plan for the Palestinian territories requires $648 also warned that the US pullout from the WHO meant the agency could no longer allocate some $46 million planned for use in Gaza, mostly this he said, would leave particular areas underfunded, namely: procurement of supplies; enabling emergency medical teams; partner coordination including fuel; rehabilitation; medevac, and protection."It would have been so incredibly helpful in 2025. We could have used money for these areas," he said the WHO could go "full steam ahead" for now, as it still had $40-60 million in the pipeline, but warned that needed to stretch "for the whole of 2025, and then 2026 and beyond". Peeperkorn said 18 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were partly functional, as were 59 of the 144 primary health care centres. Seven smaller field hospitals are also had more than 3,500 hospital beds before the war; that number went down to 1,110 and "now it's probably back to 1,500".WHO hopes to get a pre-fabricated hospital into Gaza by March."Maybe there's not a need to rebuild all those 36 hospitals but focus on the ones which are absolutely needed, and make sure that you strengthen primary healthcare and the referral pathway," said Peeperkorn. Peeperkorn insisted the health service and infrastructure in Gaza "has not collapsed", instead retaining partial or minimal functionality."I really credit that to the resilience of the Gaza health workers," he had around 25,000 health workers before the war. Peeperkorn said many senior medical specialists had fled and he hoped a sustained ceasefire would see numbers return. He said he had heard reports that 40 to 50 percent of the original health workers were still at their posts.
The National
19-02-2025
- Business
- The National
Gaza not ready for rebuilding amid security and governance hurdles, UN says
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Conditions for rebuilding Gaza are not in place with the lack of security, governance and restrictions on movement in the enclave, the UN, World Bank and EU have warned in a new assessment. The Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment released on Tuesday said that $53.2 billion is needed for recovery and reconstruction over the next 10 years. Gaza faces major rebuilding work, including clearing unexploded ordinance and millions of tonnes of rubble, following Israel's war which killed more than 48,200 people in the strip, according to local health officials, and left the enclave in ruins. The report said 'the speed, scale, and scope of recovery' will be shaped by security, governance and the movement of people and goods. 'Clear governance structures and co-ordination mechanisms are essential for managing the complexities of recovery in Gaza,' it said. 'Recovery and reconstruction must go hand-in-hand with broader reforms in governance, regulations, and regimes that facilitate longer-term sustainable development.' It also said Palestinian participation in the process would be needed to build trust among Gazans. 'Palestinian ownership and leadership of recovery and reconstruction efforts is critical, particularly with a view to enhance sustainability of recovery gains.' More than 290,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged and 95 per cent of hospitals were non-functional, the report said. The Gazan economy has contracted by 83 per cent in the worst downturn for at least three decades, while unemployment in Gaza and the occupied West Bank combined reached a record high of 51 per cent in October. 'The loss of life, widespread destruction, and the speed of damage to infrastructure have reached levels that rank among the worst in both the Middle East and North Africa region's history,' the assessment said. 'The consequences of this are expected to exert a prolonged and substantial burden on economic activities for several years ahead.' More than half the total estimated cost of rebuilding, or $29.9 billion, would need to be spent on repairing damaged buildings and other infrastructure, including housing, which would need around $15.2 billion, the report said. Another $19.1 billion would be required to make up for social and economic losses, including health, education, commerce and industry sectors devastated by the war. A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took effect in mid-January and continues to hold despite a series of setbacks and accusations of violations that have threatened to derail it. US President Donald Trump has proposed that the US take control of Gaza while it is rebuilt and that its two million residents are removed to make way for reconstruction. The idea has been widely rejected by the Arab world and Palestinians, who say it is tantamount to ethnic cleansing. Egypt is working on a counter-plan to rebuild without displacing people. The ceasefire's current phase runs until the beginning of March, and there are fears that fighting will resume. Talks on the second phase are under way. The 15-month war began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed about 1,200 people.
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.
