UN official says every Gaza resident surrounded by 30 tonnes of rubble

A senior UN official has said that each person in Gaza is now surrounded, on average, by 30 tonnes of rubble, highlighting the scale of destruction in the territory.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN under-secretary-general and UNOPS (UN Office for Project Services) executive director, said on Thursday that “Gaza contains more than 60 million tonnes of debris, the capacity of nearly 3,000 container ships.” 

“It is likely to take over 7 years to clear this rubble,” da Silva noted.

He described the scale of destruction as “overwhelming.” 

In a press statement issued after a visit to Gaza and the region, Moreira da Silva said the “humanitarian crisis is deepening.” “The people in Gaza “are exhausted, traumatized, and overwhelmed,” stressing that “the harsh winter conditions and the heavy rains this week are doubling people’s misery and desperation.”

For children, “daily life is defined by loss and trauma,” da Silva said, noting that they have been out of school for the third year in a row and are at risk of becoming a lost generation, with physical and psychological wounds that are becoming harder to heal with each passing day.

READ: Trump announces formation of ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza