Israel’s Destruction of Gaza Exceeds $18.5 Billion

In a joint report released on April 2, the United Nations and the World Bank revealed that the damage and destruction to essential infrastructure in Gaza inflicted by the genocidal Israeli war in just its first four months is estimated to be worth around USD 18.5 billion.

The report, financed by the European Union (EU), and titled the ‘Interim Damage Assessment Note’, states that the destruction in Gaza since October is “unprecedented.”

According to the report, approximately 62% of all homes in Gaza, or 290,820 housing units, have been damaged or completely destroyed. This has resulted in over a million Palestinians rendered homeless. Damage and destruction to homes and residential buildings alone accounts for 72% of the total damage costs, at an estimated value of USD 13.3 billion.

Graph from UN-WB report

Around 19% of the total damage costs are of Gaza’s public infrastructure to provide water, health, and education to its people. Commercial and industrial buildings account for 9% of total damage costs.

Furthermore, the report found that the population in Gaza is suffering from a massive and widespread lack of access to healthcare, as a result of 84% or more of the health facilities either completely destroyed or partially damaged. Additionally, the report says that even the ones that are still intact are either not being operated at all or to their full capacity due to the acute shortage of electricity, fuel and water throughout the Gaza strip.

Gaza’s education system has been completely decimated, with all of Gaza’s 625,000 students out of school. The cost of damages to education infrastructure amounts to USD 341 million, with an estimated 56 school facilities destroyed, and 219 partially damaged.

Graph from UN-WB report

The six-month Israeli onslaught has also left behind 26 million tons of debris and rubble, which will take years to remove. 80% of total damages are concentrated in the governorates of Gaza, North Gaza, and Khan Younis, with significant damage also recorded in the Beit Lahiya and Rafah governorates. The report added that “the municipality of Gaza alone accounted for USD 7.29 billion of total damage, with Jabalya following at USD 2.01 billion, Khan Younis at USD 1.82 million, and Beit Lahiya accounting for USD 1.08 billion of the total.”

The report calls for a massive increase in humanitarian assistance, food aid and food production, housing for displaced people, and the resumption of essential services in Gaza. The cost of destruction is “expected to increase substantially along with the magnitude of damages as the conflict continues,” the report states, particularly in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli genocide in Gaza, which has been ongoing for nearly six months, has already killed at least 32,975 Palestinians across the Gaza strip, along with injuring at least 75,577 others.