“This is our land,” building the future of Gaza from among the wreckage of the war

Al -Majdalawi digs his hands between the rubble to find a place for him and some of his family members who returned with him to their home in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, to live above the rubble, and hope to extract what was once their belongings and all that they had before the war.

While Sufyan tries with his simple capabilities to remove hills from debris, he dreams of the day he can rebuild. Sufyan stressed that what led him to return despite all the difficulties is to stick to his home and his land and stay in the Strip, saying: “We will not leave, this will not happen. They will destroy and we will continue to build. This is our land.”.

And not far from Sufyan al -Majdalawi’s house, Yasser Ahmed moves with caution between the rubble that poured on everything, saying to our correspondent in Gaza: “I am looking for my papers”. The desperate search task is more difficult because the neighboring buildings collapsed on each other.

The war in Gaza left an unprecedented level of destruction, as it is estimated that the amount of aggregate caused by 15 months of the war is 51 million tons. According to a new United Nations report on assessing damage and needs, more than 60 percent of the houses – equivalent to about 292 thousand homes – and 65 percent of the roads have been destroyed throughout the sector, which has an area of ​​about 360 square kilometers.

An international group to manage the aggregate

In order to address the issue of law removal, in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the United Nations Development Program with the United Nations Environment Program is participating in the leadership of the technical group working for the Gaza removal management in Gaza, and she also said to the United Nations news, the special representative of the Executive Director of the United Nations Development Program for the Assistance of the Palestinian People, Sarah Polol.

Powol confirmed that “This is an important opportunity to collect about 20 entities, including United Nations agencies and NGOs, to work together to collect technical experience and lessons learned from different experiences around the world with regard to the removal of rubble and rubble, information and knowledge that we need to develop a well -coordinated plan to address the huge needs.”.

She pointed to a number of critical issues that they need to take into account during the planning for the Administration of Copying and Implementation of Works related to it, including unexploded munitions, dangerous materials, and bodies buried under the rubble, pollution, and preserving cultural heritage, as well as issues related to housing, land rights and property.

UN employees benefit from similar experiences in Mosul in Iraq, the cities of Aleppo and the Syrian Lattakia, which wars have caused great damage.

Processing under the rubble

The property was buried under the rubble, and many lost everything they possessed, including Yasser Ahmed, who said while standing in front of the wreckage of his house that he returned to Jabalia in the hope of finding a place where he lives in, “There is no residential life here. Look around me, I only see destruction.”.

Yasser added to our correspondent in Gaza: “Misery of 59 years, which is the number of years of age, was lost, and everything has ended. Everything I have was lost.”.

The house of Yasser was an apartment and a half in a five -storey building with six apartments. Yasser warned that he “When the rubble is removed, all families will want to stay on the home of the house, and the area will not be enough for everyone.”.

It is not far from the house of Yasser, Ramadan Kettk sits over the rubble Displacement, displacement and dispersion from place to place. Throughout the past months, in addition to those who lost their people and loved ones because of the war. He said to our correspondent “We do not know how to live above the rubble or in tents amid the destruction surrounding us.”.

A very complex case

The official in the United Nations Development Program, Sarah Polol, described the issue of land ownership and property as it “Very complicated”.

She said: “We can actively plan to address housing rights and land ownership, through the use of various experiences in the United Nations system. We know that this requires technical experience and legal guidance to ensure that we get transparent and fair solutions to land possession related to land and property rights.”.

She pointed out that they are cooperating with different partners in this field working on some of the most related legal aspects, including national authorities, legal institutions, and humanitarian actors, to be able to deal with some of these complex issues on housing, land and property rights.

She pointed out that among the main aspects that were identified – for example – the loss of documents, as many land owners lost royal instruments as well as inheritance records and legal contracts.

س In order: “All this holds the owner’s verification process, which will be a large part of this effort on housing, land and property rights.”.

The need for an integrated plan

Amjad Al -Shawa, Director of the NGO Network in the Gaza Strip, acknowledged what the rubble problem represents from “A great challenge for all actors, all local and international institutions and agencies. This requires a long time and very large capabilities that are not available in the Gaza Strip, as well as the mechanism for getting rid of this rubble.”.

In an interview with our correspondent in Gaza, he pointed out that it is difficult to get rid of the war remnants in light of the small area of ​​the Gaza Strip.

He added: “Today, this rubble also represents holdings of the population. Many differences may arise between families, and must be dealt with within the framework of a Palestinian body that achieves justice and speed in dealing with the accommodation of citizens and providing appropriate housing for the Palestinian citizen, and achieves an integrated mechanism that preserves the environment.”.

He stressed that there is a need for An integrated plan to deal with the subject of the rubble, and also to ensure people’s rights..

A work has already started

The United Nations Secretary -General Antonio Guterres, in his report on the ceasefire in Gaza, which he submitted to the General Assembly at the end of January 2025, said that the damage to the physical infrastructure as a result of the conflict in the occupied Palestinian territory is estimated at at least $ 29.9 billion. The housing sector was the most affected with a loss of 15.8 billion dollars, or 53 percent of the total damage.

The United Nations Development Program, in cooperation with other partners on Earth since December, has started implementing some efforts to remove the rubble, according to UN official Sarah Polol.

Bull: “We were able to remove about 21,600 tons of rubble. We have prepared about 290 tons of roads for road work. We also created job opportunities in this framework as we managed to create more than 1500 working days for about 53 workers and local engineers.”.

She also indicated that the implementation of the priorities of removing the rubble they made over the past two months. “Supporting humanitarian response”. She added that they are working with humanitarian partners to determine the need for purification of roads from the rubble, for example, to a hospital, bakery or critical point for providing water.

Remove dangerous materials

Among other international organizations that support the supplies of the aggregate, specifically dangerous materials, the United Nations Office for Project Services.

The office, which conducted assessments of threats and dangers in the occupied Palestinian territory, has developed advanced techniques in geographical artificial intelligence and remote sensing, including 3D modeling techniques, to enhance explosive risk assessment and rubble removal strategies.

Office CEO, Georgi Moriera da Silva, said that the office is working with the United Nations Department of Mine’s Business, to alleviate the risk of landmines and unexploded ammunition.

He said after his recent visit to Gaza: “Today I was surprised by the scale of the destruction. Families belonging to the remains of their homes are at a great danger of unexploded weapons and contaminated rubble.”.

He explained that the employees of disposal of the explosive munitions of the office conducted assessments of threats and risks throughout Gaza, allowing the movement of convoys of humanitarian aid and vital activities.

He emphasized that the removal of rubble and debris is a top priority, and it may be the most urgent task after the saving efforts of life, to protect people.

More financing and access

The ceasefire in Gaza entered into force on January 19. The official in the United Nations Development Program, Sarah Polol, confirmed that there is a close correlation between the work of the technical group working for the Iron removal department in Gaza And the importance of carrying out the ceasefire “.

Bouol warned that the group’s efforts are now more important than ever to enable the increase in humanitarian aid and facilitate the restoration of vital infrastructure.

Three priorities have been required to facilitate the process of widely remove the aggregate, The first “More funding”.

She noted that seven million dollars have already been made from different donors, but added that an additional 40 million dollars were needed at this initial stage in order to expand the scope of work significantly.

Either The second matter What is required at this stage is arrival, noting that bringing the necessary equipment and supplies over the past fifteen months was a major challenge.

س In order: “The issue of access and ability to bring some of the heavy equipment required is very necessary in order to be able to expand the scope of work.”.

Either The third point The required at the present time, it is very strong coordination and the use of specific delegations and the various experiences that are used by different members in the working technical group, “Until we can go ahead, and with the expansion of the removal of rubble and knees”.

We are able to re -reconstitute the land

Yasser Ahmed, who fills his voice on his loss of people and property, hopes he will receive help in removing the rubble of his house. But he believes that it will take years for the reconstruction of the sector, adding: “I can be dead under the rubble after a year or two, and I will not see the land of this house as it was before the war.”.

Yasser said, “He hopes that the conditions will change: “I feel nostalgic to my home. One is comfortable except in his home and his own place.”.

As for Sufyan al -Majdalawi, he stressed that the debris is like iron skewers – for example – you need special equipment that he does not have, and has not yet reached his area.

He added: “Perhaps I remove the rubble, I find the body of a human being, an explosive device, or an unexplined missile.”But he stressed that they “We are able to re -reconstitute the Earth”.

The Secretary -General participates in the Extraordinary Summit of the Arab League to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza in the beginning of March, when he stressed before his attendance that one of the priorities he holds to the conference is that there is a clear political framework that establishes the foundations necessary for the recovery of Gaza, its reconstruction and permanent stability, and that this framework is based on clear principles.