The ceasefire between the Israeli army and Hamas in the Gaza Strip took place on its second day, while thousands of displaced Palestinians returned to their homes in the besieged enclave to inflict damage after 11 days of relentless Israeli bombing.
Palestinian officials said on Friday it would cost $ 100 million to rebuild the damage to industry, power and agriculture in the already impoverished area that is struggling under a devastating 14-year blockade.
“People are still on the streets trying to resume something closer to normal life, even for Gaza, before all this has happened,” media reported from Gaza City, said Saturday morning. “But everywhere you walk around here, you see evidence of what has happened over the past few days,” he added, standing in front of a row of bombed-out buildings.
“The electricity situation was about 12 hours a day, which by the standards of recent years was pretty good for Gaza, but it was reduced to [five hours a day”, he added, pointing out that there were also major problems with water and desalination.
“Gaza’s 13 hospitals are under a lot of pressure, not only because of the large number of patients, but also because of a shortage of fuel.”
Meanwhile, convoys of trucks transporting their aid began passing through the Karem Abu Salem or Kerem Shalom intersection to Gaza after being reopened by Israel, bringing much-needed medicine, food and fuel. The United Nations’ Central Emergency Response Fund said it had released $ 18.5 million for humanitarian efforts.
“There was a bit of stock, but the doctors, hospitals and aid organizations are going to face a huge task in the coming weeks,” Fawcett said. ‘There is indeed a long-term problem of reconstruction: can they bring in the materials and the money and can they do the work needed to start reassembling what has been so comprehensively dismantled in 11 days’ battles? ”
One of the most densely populated places on Earth, Gaza, has for years been subject to an Israeli blockade that restricts the passage of people and goods, as well as Egypt’s restrictions.
World Health Organization (WHO) spokeswoman Margaret Harris said Gaza’s health facilities were in danger of being overwhelmed by the thousands of injuries and called for immediate access to the besieged enclave for health supplies and personnel.