Two years have passed since the 26 August 2014 ceasefire which ended the most devastating round of hostilities in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967. During those 51 days, at least 2,220 people were killed, of which 1,460 are believed to be civilians, including 11 United Nations (UN) personnel. Another 11,231 people were injured, of whom 899 people were permanently disabled. Children accounted for more than a quarter of all deaths and a third of those injured. Half a million people - 28% of Gaza’s population - were displaced due to the fighting, and even as hostilities subsided, over 18,000 families - 100,000 people - were unable to return as their homes had been heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
The vast majority of the 1.9 million people living in Gaza were affected by the hostilities and the large-scale damage to infrastructure. In the two years since the end of the hostilities, the UN has worked closely with the Palestinian government, local communities and the private sector – as well as with other parts of the international community, including NGOs, the World Bank and Member States - to promote reconstruction and recovery in Gaza.
This paper provides a snapshot of the progress made in the last two years as well as the main challenges in the recovery and reconstruction effort, from the perspective of the UN Country Team in the State of Palestine. The report examines the wider imperative of reversing Gaza’s current development trajectory and of responding to the residual humanitarian needs of a population that in the past decade has experienced a number of military operations and had to deal with the impact of living under an Israeli blockade, restricting the movement of people as well as goods and affecting every aspect of daily life in the Gaza Strip.
Progress and Challenges
The Detailed Needs Assessment and Recovery Framework for Gaza (DNA), published by the Government of the State of Palestine, and developed with support of the UN, the World Bank and the European Union, outlines the damages and losses incurred during the 2014 hostilities and sets out a US$3.9 billion framework for reconstruction and recovery in five key sectors: Infrastructure; Productive Sector; Livelihoods and Social Protection; Social Development; and Governance .
The Government of Palestine, through the National Office for the Reconstruction of Gaza (NORG), is leading the implementation of the DNA, while the UN and other partners provide support to move the reconstruction and recovery framework forward and to address challenges on the way. UN support has thus far included a wide range of interventions, including direct implementation, technical guidance and training, facilitation of dialogue and advocacy to address access and coordination challenges, direct funding as well as fundraising.
The infrastructure sector of the DNA requires $1.4 billion to address damages and losses related to housing, energy and water facilities as well as removal of rubble and disposal of explosive ordinances. The reconstruction and recovery framework in this sector emphasizes not only the physical infrastructure repairs required but also the importance of transparent, inclusive, community-based recovery and technical support to systems and governance.
At the two year mark, progress has been more focused on the ‘hard’ elements such as housing repair, reconstruction and cash assistance, whereas other components such as spatial and urban planning, technical and legal assistance as well as information management, have received modest attention, despite being integral to a sustainable recovery.
Spatial and urban planning is fundamental to sustainable recovery and development in Gaza and is an enabler for activity in other sectors. Large-scale destruction in urban areas, the existing high population densities in urban areas, continued rapid population growth, and the scarcity of land available for productive use, are key factors influencing the reconstruction, recovery and future sustainability of Gaza.
Participatory spatial and urban planning processes to guide reconstruction efforts enable a more sustainable approach grounded in the priorities of the communities, which takes into account the need for public space, efficient placement of infrastructure, improved connectivity for economic development and environmental issues such as mobility and water scarcity. However despite the high priority of urban planning in the DNA, to date, master and neighbourhood planning has been developed for one municipality (Khuza’a) only, and is currently under way for another five. Of the remaining 19 municipalities in Gaza, 10 are among the most affected by the 2014 hostilities and are in urgent need of spatial plans to guide reconstruction and to shape future recovery and development. A spatial planner will be joining NORG in September 2016 to help move neighbourhood planning forward whilst the expansion of the municipallevel initiatives is also forecasted.
Repair and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed houses is underway in all five governorates (North Gaza, Gaza, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah). Repair of houses with minor and major damages, which are still inhabitable, has made significant progress with 50% having been completed, while work is ongoing for another 12%. Most of these repairs were undertaken in the first year after the hostilities however and little additional funding has been received since to undertake repairs to the remaining almost 60,000 homes. Reconstruction of severely damaged or destroyed houses, which are uninhabitable, made significant progress only in 2016, following preparatory work including rubble removal, documentation and establishment of land and property rights. More than 30% of these houses have now been completed, while work is ongoing on another 30% and funding has been secured for a further 14%.
Reconstruction has been delayed partly due to restrictions on access to cement, particularly in April and May 2016, but also due to an outstanding funding gap for 4,800 totallydestroyed houses. This is in addition to the pre-existing housing shortage of up to 75,000 housing units even before the 2014 hostilities.