War

Removing over 50 million metric tons of debris in Gaza can take up to 20 years, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has estimated.Rescuers have retrieved 354 bodies from under rubble in the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire was introduced there, Qatar’s Al Jazeera television reported.According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 14,000 people are missing in the enclave. Removing over 50 million metric tons of debris in Gaza can take up to 20 years, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has estimated.The situation in the Middle East escalated dramatically after armed Hamas supporters infiltrated Israeli territory from Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing residents in border settlements and seizing more than 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in the enclave aimed at destroying Hamas and securing the release of the hostages. By January 2025, the Israeli operation had resulted in at least 47, 000 Palestinian deaths and 111,000 injuries.On January 15, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that Egypt, Qatar, and the US had brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas to implement a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages from the enclave. The ceasefire went into effect on January 19.