The World Health Organization announced that the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the health system in the Gaza Strip requires investments estimated at approximately $10 billion over five years, coinciding with warnings issued by the United Nations about the danger posed by unexploded ordnance to reconstruction efforts, at a time when Israeli estimates suggest the possibility of a return to war in Gaza.
In a press briefing by the United Nations representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, Reinhilde van de Weerdt, she explained that the proposed rehabilitation budget for the health sector in Gaza includes “reconstruction and restoration of medical services, in addition to meeting the increasing health needs, especially among children and those with permanent disabilities, such as cases of paralysis and amputations, as well as the great need for psychological support services.”
The health official said that more than 1,800 health facilities – including major hospitals such as Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, in addition to primary care centres, clinics, pharmacies and laboratories – were partially damaged or completely destroyed.
In the briefing carried by the Palestinian News Agency, De Verdat confirmed that displaced Palestinians in shelter centers are living in difficult conditions, including the spread of rodents and pests, according to what field assessments showed that included more than 1,600 sites, which affects 1.45 million people, out of 2.4 million people living in the Strip.
It also stated that 80% of shelter sites recorded the spread of skin diseases, such as “scabies, lice, and bed bugs,” in light of the deteriorating health and living conditions.
It is noteworthy that local, medical and governmental data in the Gaza Strip recently recorded a widespread and noticeable spread of insects and rodents in the Strip, as a result of the major destruction of infrastructure and the accumulation of waste and rubble in large quantities, in addition to the spread of wastewater in the places of residence of the displaced.
Mines under the rubble
This comes at a time when the United Nations warned of unexploded munitions in the Gaza Strip, indicating that these munitions kill and maim civilians, and threaten long-term reconstruction efforts.
The international organization indicated – yesterday, Friday – that these munitions – which include bombs, shells and bullets – have become widespread throughout the Gaza Strip, since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
A survey conducted by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) recorded the death of more than 1,000 people in Gaza as a result of the presence of these munitions, but the actual toll is “likely to be much higher,” according to what Julius van der Walt, the official in charge of this department in the occupied Palestinian territories, said.
Van der Valt pointed out – in a press conference held in Geneva – that “about half of the victims are children,” pointing out that the UN department has not yet been able to fully assess the extent of the problem, but the available data shows a “high density” of contamination with unexploded ordnance in the Strip.
He stated that the UN department has counted – so far – more than 1,000 munitions during operations carried out over two and a half years, which is equivalent to “one munition approximately every 600 meters,” stressing that this number is limited to what was monitored only.
Van der Valt estimated that dealing with these munitions may require – in the best case – about $541 million, provided that all necessary permits are obtained and the required equipment is provided. He warned of the extent of pollution, especially in the rubble, which makes it almost impossible to conduct a complete assessment, suggesting that these explosives will remain a problem for decades.
In this context, Narmina Streshinets – from the “Save the Children” organization – highlighted the high price that children pay in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the Strip today includes “the largest number of children with amputees” in the world.
Previous international estimates stated that Israel dropped about 200,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip, turning it into an “open minefield” in light of the presence of tens of thousands of unexploded ordnances, and a complete inability to remove them without international engineering intervention capable of working inside the Strip.
According to a previous report issued by the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority, the amount of explosives dropped on Gaza exceeds what was dropped in World War II, which caused severe environmental damage, threatening human life and living organisms.
The Environmental Quality Authority warned of a health and environmental catastrophe that threatens hundreds of thousands of residents for generations to come, as a result of the damage to the infrastructure of water sources, which led to the leakage of polluted water into groundwater basins.
The return of war
In light of these worsening humanitarian crises, a new military escalation is looming on the horizon, driven by Israeli political calculations, according to Amos Harel, a military analyst in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Harel said, “The recent repeated leaks about the increasing strength of Hamas in the Gaza Strip – and the political statements that followed – are not a mere coincidence, as the government is preparing to launch a new attack on the Strip.”
He added, “If US President Donald Trump’s decision to stop the fighting in Iran and Lebanon remains in effect, Netanyahu aspires to keep the flame of war burning on other fronts, especially with the general elections approaching next October.”
Harel stated that this coincides with an attack launched by Netanyahu’s opponents, due to his failure to achieve what he called “complete victory” in the Gaza Strip. He pointed out that the renewed fighting in the Gaza Strip constitutes an opportunity for the Prime Minister to prove that he has not abandoned his declared goal.
He stated that some in the Israeli army – he did not name them – are seeking to renew the war on a large scale, pointing out that an analysis of the Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip showed that some of them crossed the area of what Tel Aviv calls the “yellow line.”
The “yellow line” is a line stipulated in the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which separates the Israeli army’s deployment areas specified by the agreement, and the areas in which Palestinians are allowed to move.
Harel continued, “A significant number of Palestinian civilians are killed in these attacks, and it seems that there are those who are waiting for Hamas to make a serious mistake by launching rockets at Israel.”
On October 10, 2025, the ceasefire agreement in Gaza – which is based on Trump’s plan to end the war – entered into force, but the Israeli army continued to violate the agreement hundreds of times, resulting in the martyrdom of 972 Palestinians and the injury of 2,235 others, according to data from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
The agreement was reached two years after a genocide that Israel began on October 7, 2023, with American support, leaving more than 72,000 martyrs and more than 172,000 wounded Palestinians, and massive destruction that included 90% of the civilian infrastructure in the Strip, according to UN estimates.
Israel also disavowed its obligations stipulated in the agreement to open the crossings and bring in the agreed upon quantities of food, relief and medical aid and shelter materials, which exacerbated the catastrophic humanitarian conditions for about 1.9 million displaced people out of a population of 2.4 million in the Strip.
Despite this, the US President announced – in mid-January – the start of the second phase of the agreement, the terms of which include: “forming structures to manage the transitional phase of Gaza, disarming Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian factions, implementing an additional withdrawal of the Israeli army, and beginning efforts to rebuild what Israel destroyed.”
As the regional situation calmed down after a truce was reached in Iran and Lebanon, right-wing voices in Israel returned to calling for the resumption of the war on Gaza, claiming that Hamas refused to disarm it, while the movement said that it would respond to proposals submitted within the framework of implementing the commitments of the first phase, and preparing for discussion about the arrangements for the second phase.
