The extent of the devastation in Gaza caused by the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas has been laid bare by new footage, just days after an international group says it could take decades for the area to be rebuilt
A video from Palestinian production company Media Town provides an aerial look at the Gaza town of Al-Shejaiya, with vast swathes of the city destroyed by shelling over the previous seven weeks.
At least 17,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged during the conflict, with many thousands more needing substantial repairs, according to Shelter Cluster, an NGO chaired by the Norwegian Refugee Council with partners of the UN and the Red Cross.
The report states that there was already a shortage of 75,000 before the conflict flared up, further adding to the region’s housing stock woes. Shelter Cluster says it will take significant investment and many years to repair the strip’s severely damaged infrastructure
The effort to rebuild Gaza will be affected by the blockade imposed by Egypt and Israel since Hamas rose to power in 2007
Egypt and Norway have suggested convening a Gaza donors’ conference next month, but no agreement has been reached.
With a population of 1.8 million, Gaza is a densely populated coastal strip of urban warrens and agricultural land that still bears the scars of previous rounds of fighting.
Israel and Hamas agreed on Tuesday to an open-ended truce following a war that took the lives of over 2,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 71 Israelis. The ceasefire brought an immediate end to the fighting but left key issues unresolved.
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