Gaza Faces Severe Reconstruction Challenges

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Gaza Faces Severe Reconstruction Challenges

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Gaza continues to grapple with immense challenges in reconstruction and humanitarian aid, nearly a year after a ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025. The recent collapse of the Al-Saada residential building in Gaza City on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, which killed 21 Palestinians, including 12 children, underscored the perilous living conditions in the enclave. Gaza’s government media office stated that an Israeli strike on October 9, 2023, severely damaged the building’s foundations, leading to its eventual collapse. The Israeli army has denied targeting the building.

Since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 174,000 injured. The war has caused widespread destruction, with approximately 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed. A joint World Bank and United Nations report from April 2024 estimated the cost of damage to critical infrastructure at around $18.5 billion, equivalent to 97% of the combined GDP of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022. Housing accounts for 72% of these costs, with 76% of residential units damaged or destroyed.

Reconstruction efforts have been severely hampered by restrictions on the entry of construction materials and “dual-use” supplies, which Israel states are for security reasons. This has left over a million people living in unsafe displacement sites, often in overcrowded tent camps lacking basic sanitation. Aid organizations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, have repeatedly called for increased access to shelter and reconstruction materials, noting that even approved materials have been denied entry. The UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Volker Türk, recently highlighted that bodies are still being recovered from the rubble, three years after Israeli bombardments, raising concerns about international law compliance and potential war crimes.

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