Government report: 60 percent of families in Gaza are homeless

Gaza: The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in the Gaza Strip stated that over 60 percent of families in the Strip are homeless due to the war, str...

Gaza: The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in the Gaza Strip stated that over 60 percent of families in the Strip are homeless due to the war, stressing that this figure is beyond the capacity of any entity to promptly handle this issue.

In a report, the ministry emphasized that the scale of this war, which completely leveled residential neighborhoods, is several times greater than the damage caused by the Israeli military's 51-day onslaught on Gaza in 2014, with the amount of rubble resulting from the decimated neighborhoods, cities, and residential blocks due to the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip standing at tens of millions of tons.

The removal of the rubble is the foremost reconstruction stage in Gaza, in terms of constantly demolishing the damaged buildings that pose a threat to the Palestinians' safety, undergirding the damaged ones and revamp them, in addition to protecting the adjacent structures and streets during the demolition operation, the report continued.

Following a thorough assessment of the aftermath of the Israeli aggression, the report stated that cleaning up the rubble cannot be conducted using local machinery, as most of it was either damaged or destroyed due to the Israeli bombardment of government, municipal, and civil facilities, prompting the need for the delivery of dozens of heavy machineries.

According to the report, the ministry suggested the provision of interim shelters, which require massive funding, such as providing temporary housing through mobile units (caravans) placed near residential neighborhoods, along with infrastructure services such as water and sanitation. The second proposal entails providing financial amounts as rental allowances to help families arrange temporary shelter within their residential area.