70% of Gaza buildings have been damaged or destroyed by war as Trump floats US takeover and rebuilding of Palestinian territory
Nearly two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are leaving their refugee camps and crowded shelters to finally return home after the breakthrough cease-fire deal, only to find that their homes and neighborhoods are nothing but ash and rubble after 15-months of brutal warfare.The United Nations estimates that 69% of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, including more than 245,000 homes — with the World Bank estimating that the first four months alone caused $18.5 billion in damages.Researchers say the scale of destruction can only be compared to cities that were leveled during the Second World War.President Trump is now calling for the US to take “ownership” of the Palestinian enclave so that it can be rebuilt more quickly and developed into a gleaming region that will have “an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs.” The administration said that it’s in Gazans’ best interest to be removed and permanently resettled to neighboring Arab countries, who have all refused to take in the refugees.Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff previously estimated it could take 10 to 15 years to rebuild the damage from the war.While the full extent of the damage in Gaza has yet to be fully evaluated, images on the ground and from satellites show that more than two-thirds of the enclave is in ruins following 15-months of Israeli bombardments.Whole neighborhoods are destroyed, major roads have been blown to smithereens, most hospitals are no longer functioning, and critical water and electricity infrastructure are in ruins.
The worst damage is centered in northern Gaza and Gaza City, where Israel repeatedly tried to stomp out Hamas once and for all — but failed.Researchers Corey Scher, of the City University of New York, and Prof.
Jamon Van Den Hoek, of Oregon State University, estimate that 75% of buildings there are likely damaged or destroyed.“The sheer amount of bombing in the north is unprecedented,” Van Den H...