Gaza in rubble and ruin

Israel’s military campaign since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack has devastated the Gaza Strip, leaving an estimated 42 million tonnes of debris piled where houses, mosques, schools and shops used to stand. In April a U.N. estimate reckoned that this would take 14 years to dispose of, while the U.N. official overseeing the problem said the clean-up would cost at least $1.2 billion. Tackling the debris crisis will be harder because it is spread across so much of the Gaza Strip, and because there are so many areas of intense destruction. The volume of rubble is immense and continues to accumulate rapidly. Adding to the complexity is the large quantity of unexploded ordnance (UXO) as well as risks from asbestos and other contaminants, especially in refugee camps, and the large number of bodies still lying in the rubble. The World Health Organization said large amounts of dust released from destroyed buildings are releasing hazardous materials that float into the air or seep into water supplies, risking serious health problems for Gaza’s 2.3 million people. According to a damage assessment from UNOSAT, 163,778 structures were damaged in the Gaza Strip based on images taken on Sept. 3 and Sept. 6 amounting to