Geneva, August 20 (RHC)-- The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) says some Palestinians have no choice but to live in the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israel across the besieged Gaza Strip.
UNRWA spokesperson Louise Wateridge said on Monday that the Israeli forces were massacring more Palestinian civilians in the besieged region and using repeated evacuation orders as cover to commit atrocities.
“Strikes are now relentless: the day starts with people checking if family and friends are still alive, and ends hoping they make it through the night,” she said in a post on X.
UNRWA has reported that 80 percent of the Gaza Strip's infrastructure has been destroyed since Israel launched its savage military campaign across the besieged Palestinian territory in early October last year.
The United Nations recently reported that 10 months of Israeli war in Gaza have generated approximately 42 million tons of debris. Clearing the rubble is expected to cost up to $700 million and could take at least 15 years to complete.
According to the UN, the scale of destruction in Gaza is unprecedented, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. The sheer volume of debris poses a significant challenge for recovery efforts, both logistically and financially.
UN estimates suggest that the cleanup operation could extend for many years given the complexity and scope of the work involved. The most recent report by the world body has also identified approximately 73 percent of industrial and business facilities as damaged across Gaza.
UN also says most of Gaza's population has been displaced, including many who have been forced to evacuate multiple times. New reports of death and destruction emerged on Monday as Israeli forces launched more deadly strikes on the central and southern parts of the besieged strip.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the total number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli regime’s genocide since early October has topped 40,100, mostly women and children. More than 92,000 people have also been injured.
The Palestinian Civil Defense recently said the catastrophic death toll of more than 40,000 given by health officials fails to capture the full extent of Palestinian losses during Israel’s 10-month-old genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.
This comes as tens of thousands are missing or buried under mountains of rubble, many with "disintegrated bodies".
The Lancet, a leading general medical journal, earlier estimated that the death toll from Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip could be 186,000 or even more.
