Gaza buried under 61 million tonnes of rubble
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About 83 per cent of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by Israel as at Sept 23, according to satellite analysis.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS – After two years of war, Gaza is buried under more than 61 million tonnes of debris and three-quarters of its buildings have been destroyed, according to United Nations data analysed by AFP.
The fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which came into effect on Oct 10 under pressure from US President Donald Trump, opens the way for the reconstruction of the devastated territory.
This will require managing the immense amount of rubble.
170 Empire State Buildings
As at July 8, the Israeli army had damaged or destroyed nearly 193,000 buildings in the densely populated territory, representing about 78 per cent of existing structures before the conflict began on Oct 7, 2023, according to satellite analysis by the UN’s Unosat programme.
In an assessment of images from Sept 22 to 23 of Gaza City, the UN agency estimated that an even higher proportion – 83 per cent – of buildings there had been damaged or destroyed.
The total 61.5 million tonnes of debris is nearly 170 times the weight of New York’s Empire State Building, and is equivalent to more than 169kg of debris for each square metre of Gaza’s small territory.
Nearly two-thirds of the debris was caused in the war’s first five months, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The destruction of buildings also accelerated in the months leading up to the current ceasefire.
Eight million tonnes of debris was generated from April to July 2025, mostly in the southern part of the territory between Rafah and Khan Younis.
Toxic waste
A preliminary analysis published by UNEP in August warned that the debris poses a serious health risk to the exposed population.
The UN agency suggests that at least 4.9 million tonnes of debris could be contaminated with asbestos from old buildings, particularly near refugee camps such as those in Jabaliya in the north, Nuseirat and al-Maghazi in the centre, and Rafah and Khan Younis in the south.
UNEP also reports that at least 2.9 million tonnes of debris could be contaminated with “hazardous waste from known industrial sites”.
The Israeli army relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip in response to the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas on Israeli soil on Oct 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 68,280 people in Gaza – mostly civilians – according to figures from the Hamas-run government’s Health Ministry considered reliable by the UN. AFP
