Palestinians in Gaza use war rubble to repair streets: Report 

Palestinian workers reportedly used crushed concrete and metal into usable pavement as part of a UN-run project in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.

Alessandro Mrakic, head of UNDP’s Gaza office, said UNDP teams staffed by Palestinian workers are using the rubble “to rehabilitate roads and pave areas for shelters and community kitchens.”

Mrakic added that the territory faces one of the largest post-war debris clearance challenges in modern history, with an estimated 61 million tons of rubble.

“We have started sorting, we have started crushing, and, as such, reusing it,” Mrakic told Reuters. “We have used almost the same amount that we have collected.”

So far, UNDP has removed about 287,000 tons of rubble — only the “tip of the iceberg,” according to Mrakic.

The project represents a joint effort by the UN and Palestinians to clear mountains of debris using locally available machinery.

Palestinians hope this initiative will mark a first step toward rehabilitating their devastated cities.

Palestinian officials say the wreckage is blocking access to water wells and hospitals, while severely hindering efforts to revive the local economy.

The initiative comes as progress on US President Donald Trump’s Gaza reconstruction plan has stalled.

The plan was intended to build on the October ceasefire by delivering a surge of aid and rebuilding the blockaded territory from scratch.

30 tons per capita: Gaza faces rubble crisis

The United Nations reports that every Palestinian in Gaza is now surrounded by an average of 30 tons of rubble.

Clearance work is slowed by dangers hidden beneath the debris. Before rubble can be removed, sites must be checked for unexploded ordnance in coordination with the UN’s mine action service.

According to UNDP, clearing Gaza’s rubble could take seven years, assuming accelerated and unimpeded access for heavy machinery as well as consistent fuel supplies — resources that remain scarce in Gaza due to Israeli restrictions.

Recovery and reconstruction in the territory will require $71.4 billion over the next decade.

These developments come as Israeli attacks continue to kill Palestinian civilians on a daily basis, in violation of the ceasefire.

On Monday, a Palestinian was killed and another injured by Israeli army fire in the northern Gaza Strip.

The body of an 18-year-old man was transferred to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after he was shot by Israeli forces in Beit Lahia.

Another Palestinian was wounded by Israeli fire in the same area.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces also carried out demolitions of Palestinian buildings and facilities east of Gaza City, accompanied by artillery shelling and gunfire in the surrounding areas.

Israeli artillery additionally shelled eastern neighborhoods of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

More than 975 Palestinians have been killed and 2,296 injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025.

Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 72,500 Palestinians and injured over 172,500 others, while destroying around 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

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