It could take 350 years for Gaza to rebuild if it remains under a blockade, UN report says

Associated Press

United Nations agencies have long warned that it could take decades to rebuild Gaza after Israel’s offensive against Hamas. Now, a new report speaks in terms of centuries. The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development said in a report released Monday that if the war ends tomorrow and Gaza returns to the status quo before Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel, it could take 350 years for its battered economy to return to its precarious prewar level. The war has caused staggering destruction across the territory, with entire neighborhoods obliterated and roads and critical infrastructure in ruins. Mountains of rubble laced with decomposing bodies and unexploded ordnance would have to be cleared before rebuilding could begin.