Numerous reports from international organizations and experts have addressed the challenges of post-war reconstruction, offering their perspectives on how to respond to the war’s catastrophic impact on the Gaza Strip: the large-scale destruction of infrastructure, the suspension of education, the near-total collapse of the healthcare system, and the shutdown of vital water and electricity networks. These effects have left behind profound humanitarian crises—a tragic number of orphaned children, many still missing under the rubble, and thousands displaced, now living in conditions that lack even the most basic standards of life.
Given the findings in these reports, it is essential to clearly and directly reflect the local community’s perspective on reconstruction. The Social and Economic Policies Monitor – Al Marsad, therefore, formed a research group composed of specialists and scholars from Gaza. These experts, who have endured the successive wars on Gaza over the past fifteen years, have closely observed several reconstruction efforts, many of which have faltered along the way.
The research group plans to produce a series of policy papers aimed at guiding rapid, short-term responses and planning for medium- and long-term recovery and reconstruction efforts, all rooted in insights from Gaza. The aim is twofold: to avoid flawed recommendations that could lead to misguided and complex interventions in the future and to prevent such recommendations from inadvertently playing into Israel’s strategy of obstructing reconstruction by making it slow and burdensome—turning it into a punitive measure against Gaza’s people and pushing them toward despair, such as the claim that rubble removal alone could take fifteen years.
The first paper in this series, titled “Gaza’s 2023 War Rubble Removal: Is a 15-Year Timeframe or Exaggeration” is written by Eng. Asem Alnabeh, who is currently working closely with the emergency committees on the ground in Gaza. Drawing from his hands-on experience in reconstruction, Alnabeh provides a technical analysis of rubble removal, one of the most formidable challenges facing reconstruction efforts. Estimates suggest that more than 35 million tons of rubble have accumulated across Gaza’s governorates—a massive amount that far surpasses the debris left by previous wars. With the ongoing systematic destruction, this figure is expected to exceed 40 million tons in the coming weeks. Lurking unexploded ordnance and insufficient heavy machinery also pose serious risks that could significantly delay the rubble removal process if not addressed through a carefully devised strategic plan.
The paper challenges the international organizations’ claims that rubble removal will take fifteen years. Alnabeh argues that this projection is unreasonable, noting that if debris removal relies on the limited capacity of just 100 trucks, as outlined in the UN’s 15-year timeframe, the process could stretch beyond twenty years. Instead, the paper advocates for involving local, regional, and international companies, employing local labor, and deploying a fleet of 1,000 to 1,500 trucks working extended hours, which could complete the rubble removal within a year. Rubble removal and reconstruction should also proceed in parallel rather than one after the other. In other words, reconstruction efforts need not be delayed until the debris is fully cleared. To make this possible, any reconstruction agreement must ensure unimpeded access for equipment and companies into Gaza, free from Israeli restrictions.