Extract from ABC News
A Palestinian woman looks out from a window of a tent set up inside her war-damaged home in the northern Gaza Strip. (Reuters: Dawoud Abu Alkas)
In short:
More than $US71 billion ($99.4 billion) will be needed over the next 10 years for recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, according to a new report by the European Union and the United Nations.
The final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment found housing, health, education, commerce and agriculture were the hardest-hit sectors.
What's next?
The EU and UN are calling for reconstruction to be "Palestinian led", saying a sustained ceasefire and adequate security are minimum conditions to begin recovery.
Once a place for families to play and relax, Gaza's coastlines are now crowded with makeshift tents.
And as springtime temperatures rise, thousands of displaced Palestinians are now dealing with a surge of rats, fleas and other pests.
"My children have been bitten. One of my sons was even bitten on the nose," Muhammad al-Raqab, a Palestinian man living in a tent near the southern city of Khan Yunis, told AFP news agency.
"I am unable to sleep through the night because I must constantly watch over the children."
About 60 per cent of the Gaza Strip, which was home to an estimated 2.2 million inhabitants, has been displaced. (Reuters: Dawoud Abu Alkas)
Mr al-Raqab is among more than 1.2 million people — 60 per cent of Gaza's population — who were left without homes after 24 months of conflict, according to the final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA).
Most are still living with almost no sanitation, surviving in shelters often made from fabric scraps, nylon sheets and old blankets.
Palestinians are forced to set up tents areas exposed to extreme weather with Israel occupying more than half of the Gaza Strip. (Reuters: Ramadan Abed)
The new assessment by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN), jointly conducted with the World Bank, painted a bleak picture of the extent of devastation across the Gaza Strip and the cost of recovery.
With much of Gaza reduced to rubble, the report estimated $US71.4 billion ($99.4 billion) would be needed for reconstruction over the next decade.
The hardest-hit sectors were housing, health, education, commerce and agriculture, with human development in Gaza set back by 77 years.
Widespread destruction of homes
Throughout Israel's war in Gaza, triggered by the deadly Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, the report found housing was the most impacted sector.
The extent of damage to housing across Gaza until October 2025, based on the RDNA report. (ABC News Graphics: Kylie Silvester)
It had incurred about $US18 billion in damages, with nearly 85 per cent of homes destroyed.
Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Jabaliya were among the worst-affected locations.
About 1.9 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, and more than 60 per cent of the population have lost their homes, the report said.
Living conditions continue to be "catastrophic", according to NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Severe weather constantly batters tent camps where families are desperately trying to carry on with their lives.
Violence has also persisted in Gaza despite the ceasefire coming into effect on October 10, 2025, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Figures on the scale of damage to housing from the UN and EU Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment. (ABC News Graphics: Kylie Silvester)
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said the situation was worsening.
"Our partners on the ground report that between 12 and 18 April, incidents such as gunfire, shelling and strikes increased by 46 per cent compared with the previous week, marking the highest weekly total since the October ceasefire agreement went into effect," he said at a news conference.
Both Israel and Hamas regularly accuse each other of violations.
Percentages of homes lost and people impacted, according to the UN and EU Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment. (ABC News Graphics: Kylie Silvester)
Overall recovery needs for housing were projected to be $US16.21 billion.
"Temporary housing interventions alone are estimated to require $US1.42 billion [excluding land costs] and should prioritise compact, in situ units with adequate access to core services," the report said.
For recovery to begin there needed to be "secure and predictable access to construction materials", the report said.
Humanitarian aid groups and UN agencies report that Israel has been continuing to block the entry of aid shipments and shelter materials, including tents and mobile homes.
Israel argues it is allowing adequate humanitarian aid into Gaza, saying that there is no limit to the amount of aid that can get into the territory.
Destruction can be seen across northern Gaza, with Israel in the distance. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)
The report also stressed the importance of access for households to be rebuilt in their original communities.
For most areas, that would require clearance of unexploded ordnance.
Aid groups have estimated more than 7,000 tonnes of unexploded ordnance may be hidden under rubble in Gaza.
They said it could take up to 30 years to clear Gaza's surface from the explosive remnants of war.
A boy pushes a wheelchair through the rubble of buildings destroyed in Gaza City. (AP: Abdel Kareem Hana)
Hospitals strained
The UN said its assessments were based on "globally proven methodologies that combine remote sensing and ground-verified data for calculating damages, losses and recovery needs".
It also includes estimates validated by the EU, UN and the World Bank.
Figures on the conflict's impact on Gaza's health system from the UN and EU Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment. (ABC News Graphics: Kylie Silvester)
The report highlighted how the conflict shattered an already strained health system.
More than 50 per cent of hospitals across Gaza were left non-functional, the report said.
Mohammed Wael Helles, 14, was waiting months for surgery after an Israeli air strike tore his spinal cord and fractured three vertebrae.
"I'm still young, at the start of my life," he told Reuters from his hospital bed in Khan Younis in November.
At that time, he still did not know how much longer he would be waiting for treatment.
Mohammed Helles, who suffered from a spinal cord injury during an Israeli strike, lies on a bed at Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis. (Reuters: Haseeb Alwazeer)
Damages to the health sector were estimated at $US1.39 billion, according to the joint European Union and UN assessment.
About 1,825 facilities were partially or completely destroyed, with hospitals taking a significant hit.
The remaining hospitals remained overwhelmed and primary care severely constrained.
A Palestinian man carries a wounded girl into al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli strikes, (AP: Yousef Al Zanoun)
Tom Roth, the MSF Australia executive director, said despite the ceasefire his teams were witnessing daily attacks.
"We're treating over 1,000 surgeries a day still — over 70,000 medical consults," he told ABC News Channel.
"So the situation is still catastrophic.
"Eighty per cent of the infrastructure has been destroyed and we are trying to provide water, sanitation, medical care on a daily basis."
Palestinians inspect damage following an Israeli raid at Kamal Adwan hospital. (Reuters: Fadi Alwhidifa)
Nearly every school damaged
Toulin Al-Hindi, seven, was among 400 children attending classes in the wintry cold in January, sitting on the floor of a crowded tent.
The makeshift North Educational School had been set up in blue plastic tents in the ruins of northern Gaza's community of Beit Lahiya.
"Although we do not sit on chairs, thank God we started attending school," Toulin told Reuters.
"During the war there were no schools, and we were bored."
Displaced Palestinian students study inside a tent in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip. (Reuters: Mahmoud Issa)
In 2023, prior to the war, enrolment in basic education reached 97 per cent for about 625,000 children.
The conflict left nearly all schools destroyed or damaged, with damages estimated at $US1.08 billion, the report found.
"An estimated 728,000 children and youth [were] without formal schooling for two years and [the conflict resulted] … in the deaths of thousands of students and many educators," it said.
Over two years of conflict, more than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed and 171,000 injured, according to local authorities, with many still missing under the rubble.
Figures on the conflict's impact on Gaza's education system from the UN and EU Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment. (ABC News Graphics: Kylie Silvester)
At least 792 teachers and school personnel have been killed, the UN has reported.
The report also highlighted that more than 58,000 children had lost one or both parents.
So there was the chance that many would be returning to school with significant mental health needs and malnutrition.
Mr Roth said Gazans were still desperate for food and water.
"We had a child die last week from hypothermia," he said.
"These are things that are preventable."
Before and after shots show how Gaza has been devastated.
The EU and UN report said $US4.71 billion would be needed to rebuild the education sector, with about $US3 billion required for urgent interventions.
It said temporary learning spaces, workforce restoration, and school reconstruction should be prioritised within the first three years.
Access to nutritional support was also critical to promote cognitive development among malnourished children.
Palestinian-led recovery
The UN said funding to support Gaza's reconstruction would be channelled through international donor contributions to the World Bank and other financial institutions.
In a joint statement, the UN and the EU called for the overall recovery to be "Palestinian led" and based on "approaches that actively support the transition of governance to the Palestinian Authority".
"A sustained ceasefire and adequate security are minimum conditions," they said.
"Unimpeded humanitarian access and immediate restoration of essential services must underpin recovery."
They also stated it was "essential" that a "credible pathway" was created for the Palestinian Authority's future governance across the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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