Will Gaza Rise Again From Its Ashes? A City Buried In Rubble And Memories | World News

Gaza War: October 7, 2023. That single day changed Gaza forever. That morning, Hamas launched a sudden attack on Israel. Approximately 1,200 Israeli civilians were killed and 251 people were taken hostage.

The response came quickly and brutally. Israel hit Gaza with continuous air strikes. Missiles rained down on neighborhoods full of people. The chatter of streets and markets that once echoed with laughter has fallen silent. Entire families lost their homes. Thousands of buildings collapsed.

More than two million people are left with nothing but tents and fragments of their past.

Two years have passed since that morning. Gaza is still fragmented. The city that once dreamed of a better future now breathes dust and despair. Before the war, schools were open, children played in the streets, and shopkeepers called out to customers. Today, only the wind blows through the ruins.

The numbers tell their own story. According to a United Nations report, almost 80 percent of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed. The war caused financial losses estimated at over Rs 4.5 lakh crore. More than 54 million tons of debris currently cover the city. Experts say it could take at least 10 years to clear the debris. Rebuilding it could cost another Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

A UN official estimates that Gaza needs about $52 billion to rebuild. Jorge Moreira da Silva, director of the United Nations Office for Project Services, told Al Jazeera that around $52 billion would be needed to rebuild the strip.

Negotiations regarding restructuring are ongoing. Reports suggest that the United States is considering taking responsibility for Gaza’s reconstruction efforts. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair may be given the task of shaping the plan. For now it remains just an idea on paper.

The land itself suffered. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says Gaza soil is poisoned with three times the normal amount of explosive residue. It may take more than twenty years for fertility to be restored. Fertile fields that once nourished families are now lifeless, with craters replacing crops.

Gaza children lost more than their homes. They lost their childhood. Schools that once rang with morning bells are now in ruins. Nearly 90 percent of educational institutions were destroyed. Before the war, there were 850 schools and 10 universities in Gaza. None of them remain functional anymore.

Hospitals also fell silent. Before the war, there were 36 hospitals in Gaza. Ninety-four percent of these are now damaged. Some have closed completely. Others operate without electricity or medicine. Doctors are having difficulty treating the injured under the rubble. Patients die while waiting.

The cost of this war goes beyond numbers. More than 66,000 Palestinians were killed. 18,430 of them were children. Each attack adds to a growing cemetery of dreams. More than 39,000 children lost one or both parents. Now they wander through the rubble, clinging to memories instead of toys, their eyes searching for a world that no longer exists.

But still, beneath the dust, hope refuses to die. People still talk about rebuilding. They still believe in return. So can Gaza rise from its ashes? Will the city once known for its soul ever survive again? Nobody knows the answer. People are trying to live in a place where survival is an act of courage in itself.