Gaza -
The extent of the destruction left by about 56 hours of the Israeli aggression, in early August, has made the scene darker in the Gaza Strip, which is already suffering from a very slow reconstruction of what was destroyed by previous Israeli military attacks.
The recent aggression joined a series of 4 destructive wars and dozens of "rounds of escalation", since the Israeli occupation declared the Gaza Strip a "hostile entity" on September 19, 2007. Since then, Israel has seized with heavy brutality, militarily and economically, about two million Palestinians living In this small coastal enclave.
This declaration by the Israeli occupation state imposed on the Gazans a tragic and bloody reality, represented in 15 years of suffocating siege, and severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods.
The specter of wars and destruction has not left two million Palestinians in Gaza since 2008 (Al-Jazeera)
heavy losses
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza, Naji Sarhan, estimated the losses resulting from the recent aggression at about 5 million dollars, in addition to the total losses of the wars and repeated escalations estimated at about 3 billion dollars, including direct and indirect losses.
Sarhan explains - to Al Jazeera Net - that 16,000 housing units were completely destroyed by the Israeli bombing, and more than 200,000 units have been destroyed to varying degrees since the first war in late 2008, and 2300 units are still completely destroyed and 70,000 partially destroyed units need reconstruction.
Al Furqan Battle
Israel launched its first large-scale war on Gaza on December 27, 2008, and lasted 21 days, and called it "Cast Lead." As for the resistance, it called it "The Furqan Battle."
This war was not the most violent among the four wars on Gaza, but it constituted a “shock” for the Gazans. It was the first experience, and it came as a surprise with an unprecedented intensity of fire, in which Israel committed horrific killings and destruction on a large scale.
According to official statistics, 1,436 Palestinians, including about 410 children and 104 women, were killed by the occupation’s fire, and more than 5,400 others were wounded, half of them were children, in addition to the destruction of more than 4100 housing units completely, and about 17,000 units partially.
The occupation has imposed a reality of misery and suffering on Gaza since it was declared a hostile entity in 2007 (Al-Jazeera)
Shale Stones Battle
This war, which Israel called the "pillar of clouds", and which the resistance called "the stones of the shale", began with a treacherous assassination targeting Ahmed al-Jabari, a prominent leader in the "Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades", the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), who was described as a "commander". Pillars of Resistance", on November 14, 2012, violating the truce agreement that was in force at the time under Egyptian auspices.
During the 8 days of bombardment, the Israeli attacks resulted in the death of 162 Palestinians, including 42 children and 11 women, and the injury of 1,300 others.
The raids caused the complete demolition of about 200 homes, and about 1,500 homes partially, in addition to varying degrees of damage to dozens of civilian facilities.
Battle of the eaten storm
This war is the longest and most violent, and the occupation called it "Protective Edge", while the resistance called it "Eatn-Eated Storm", and it began on July 7, 2014, and lasted 51 days, and resulted in the death of 2,322 Palestinians, including 578 children and 489 women. and wounding more than 10,000 others.
Physically, this war completely destroyed 11,000 housing units, and partially 160,000 units, in addition to varying damage to about 500 economic facilities, dozens of mosques, and agricultural lands.
In October 2014, a donors’ conference held in Cairo allocated $5.4 billion, about half of which was allocated for the reconstruction of Gaza, and the rest to meet some of the needs of the Palestinians.
According to Sarhan, only 20% of these funds reached institutions related to reconstruction.
Bulldozers remove the rubble of Al-Jawhara Tower, which was destroyed by Israeli bombing in the battle of Seif Al-Quds (Reuters)
Battle of the sword of Jerusalem
This war, which Israel called "the guardian of the walls", and which the resistance called "the sword of Jerusalem", lasted for 11 days. It was among the heaviest in terms of the intensity of the Israeli fire, which caused massive destruction to residential homes, public and private facilities and infrastructure, as well as the martyrdom of 260 Palestinians. Among them were 66 children and 41 women, and more than 1,900 were injured, including 560 children and 380 women.
The total destruction affected 1,700 housing units, and 60,000 units were partially damaged to varying degrees.
According to Sarhan, Gaza's direct and indirect losses as a result of this war amounted to $420 million, including $145 million in the housing sector.
Naji Sarhan talked about many and complex factors behind the delay in reconstruction and the aggravation of the crisis in Gaza (Al-Jazeera)
Why are the ages delayed?
Sarhan says that donors are tired of repeating wars on Gaza and destroying what they are rebuilding every time, in addition to the decline in external interest in the Gaza file.
The reasons for the delay in the reconstruction process, according to Sarhan, are as follows:
Repeated wars and Israeli aggression, and the decline of external interest in the Gaza file.
Donors' failure to honor the funds pledged after the 2014 war.
Israeli restrictions that hinder the work of donors, and affect the policies of countries towards Gaza.
Absence of timetables, mechanism and areas for disbursing funds, and some donors deduct the cost of studies, consultants’ wages, and previous projects from the total value of the reconstruction grant.
The internal division and its repercussions, the absence of an active role for the Palestinian Authority, and its failure to make the required effort to follow up on donors' pledges.
While no party has pledged to rebuild the destroyed residential towers, Sarhan says that no one has come forward - until this moment - to contribute to the reconstruction of what was destroyed in the last three days of escalation, and there are buildings and homes that are still destroyed since the 2014 war, and the numbers increase with each war and the crisis worsens with it. .
Political variables, including normalization
Professor of political science, Dr. Hussam Al-Dajni, agrees with Sarhan that the curve of donors and the international community’s interest in the Gaza file is in a tangible decline from what it was in previous years, and the reason is the renewal of wars with the absence of a political solution horizon, which exacerbates human suffering.
Al-Dajni identified - to Al Jazeera Net - the reasons for this decline due to the change in international policies, with it declining support in general, including Arab support that was affected by the normalization of Arab capitals with Israel, in addition to the impact of the internal Palestinian division.
To regain momentum and interest, Al-Dajni developed a 3-point roadmap:
Palestinian national consensus and the adoption of a specific strategy.
Effective communication with the Arab world in order to achieve real development in Gaza.
Prosecuting Israel and prosecuting it internationally for its endless crimes against the Palestinians, especially in Gaza.