Rebuilding the Gaza Strip… take three
By Omar Shaban. Thirty days into Israel's «Protective Edge» operation a three-day ceasefire was declared and renewed on 11 August. We must be ready for the shock: the war's silence will reveal a reality perhaps heavier than the war itself.
- Author
- Omar Shaban Ismail
- Date
- 2014-08-14
By Omar Shaban
Summary:
Thirty days after the beginning of the Israeli military operation “Protective Edge” on the eighth of June 2014, a ceasefire of three days was announced, and it was renewed on 11 August. We must be ready for the shock — for the silence of the war will reveal a reality that may be heavier than the war itself. The history of humanity will record that the Gaza Strip, that very small spot full of inhabitants, is the only place that has been subjected to three destructive wars and witnessed reconstruction three times within seven years — a very short period in the life of states.
The initial indicators… terrifying
Although the process of scientific estimation of the losses has not yet begun, because of the continuation of the military operations, the preliminary statistics issued by international and governmental institutions are truly shocking, and these figures are expected to double with the beginning of the field estimation of the losses. The statistics of the Ministry of Works in Gaza indicate that 7000 housing units have been destroyed completely, and 30000 units partially — of which about 5000 will not be fit for use again — in addition to the destruction of entire residential neighbourhoods, with what they contain of streets, water networks, lighting, furniture, identity papers, personal photographs, and certificates, not to mention tens of factories, mosques, schools, health clinics, hospitals, water wells, sewage stations, and the electricity and water network.
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