On December 9, 2025, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict entered another fraught chapter as Israeli police stormed the compound of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The raid, which involved police on motorcycles, trucks, and forklifts, was sharply condemned by the UN and has further strained relations between Israel and key humanitarian agencies operating in the region. At the same time, Gaza’s physical and humanitarian devastation has reached staggering new heights, with over 81 percent of its structures now either destroyed or damaged, and the population facing a daunting, years-long recovery effort amid political deadlock and winter hardship.
According to the United Nations’ latest satellite imagery review, more than 123,000 buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed and an additional 75,000 damaged to varying degrees since the outbreak of hostilities. This unprecedented destruction, fueled by thousands of Israeli air strikes, ground battles, and controlled demolitions, has generated an estimated 68 million tons of debris—about the weight of 186 Empire State Buildings. To put that in perspective, distributing this rubble evenly across Manhattan would leave roughly 215 pounds of debris on every square foot.
But the challenge isn’t just the sheer volume of debris. The rubble is laced with thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance—bombs, missiles, and artillery shells that failed to detonate—posing a lethal threat to anyone attempting to clear it. Tragically, Palestinian health authorities estimate that the bodies of around 10,000 people remain trapped beneath the ruins, a grim testament to the scale of loss and the dangers awaiting those who undertake the removal process.
Jaco Cilliers, who leads the UN Development Program’s (UNDP) operations in the Palestinian territories, offered a sobering assessment: “One hopes that it will happen as quickly as possible, but it will take years. The best-case scenario is that it will take at least five, more like seven years.” The actual timeline will depend on several factors—funding, Israel’s willingness to allow the necessary equipment into Gaza, and the political will to maintain a ceasefire.
Currently, Gaza’s capacity for debris removal is woefully inadequate. There are just nine working excavators, 67 wheel loaders, 75 dump trucks, and a single functioning crusher left after the war. The UNDP has requested permission from Israel to bring in 120 dump trucks, 80 wheel loaders, 20 excavators, and additional crushers to ramp up the effort. However, Israel, which controls all security screenings at crossings, considers such heavy machinery “dual-use” equipment, citing concerns that it could be diverted to military purposes, such as constructing tunnels for Hamas.
The U.S.-run Civil-Military Coordination Center, established in Israel to monitor the ceasefire and coordinate aid, is working with Israeli and Palestinian officials to plan the debris removal as part of the broader reconstruction process. Yet, as of now, the work is proceeding at a crawl. Since roughly a year ago, the UNDP has managed to clear about 209,000 tons of debris—barely scratching the surface. The immediate priority has been to reopen roads and facilitate access to hospitals, bakeries, and temporary schools. In a small but meaningful victory, approximately 270 roads have been reopened over the past year, reducing the travel time between Deir al Balah and Gaza City from an hour and a half to just 30 minutes.
Still, the dangers are far from over. Every week, several people—many of them children—are injured by remnants of war. Demining experts estimate that thousands of unexploded munitions remain, mostly inside private homes. The UN’s Mine Action Service has encountered hundreds of such remnants but, lacking authorization from Israeli authorities to import the necessary equipment, has been unable to clear any explosive ordnance in Gaza for the past two years. “We require authorisation from Israeli authorities to import specific technical equipment and supplies. At present, this clearance has not been granted,” said Julius Van der Walt of UNMAS.
Meanwhile, humanitarian needs continue to mount. Over two million Gaza residents—most of whom have been displaced from their homes—are living in overcrowded tent camps or among the ruins. The arrival of winter has brought heavy rains, flooding camps and compounding the misery. For many, the wait for heavy machinery and international assistance is simply too long. Some, like Abdullah al-Hindawi, have tried to clear the rubble of their destroyed homes themselves, only to find the task insurmountable. “We tried clearing the rubble ourselves, but it was too difficult,” Hindawi said. “The entire street, it’s just piles of debris, and everything is mixed together—you can’t tell whose house is whose anymore.”
Others, like Reem Ajjour, are searching for closure in the most literal sense. Having fled Gaza City earlier this year, she has not heard from her husband and young daughter since their home collapsed. “We need an excavator or bulldozer to remove the debris, so I can search for my husband and daughter,” Ajjour said. “I have no other option left but to look for their bodies.”
As the humanitarian crisis deepens, the political situation remains deadlocked. Rubble removal on a large scale can only begin if Israeli authorities allow the necessary equipment into Gaza—a prospect that hinges on the successful negotiation of the second phase of a U.S.-brokered peace plan. Talks remain stalled, with Hamas refusing to disarm and both sides at odds over who will govern the enclave. The U.S. hopes Arab Gulf states will help foot the estimated $70 billion reconstruction bill, but so far, no agreement has been reached.
In a parallel development, the Israeli government’s campaign against UNRWA has intensified. The December 9 raid on the agency’s East Jerusalem compound was characterized by UNRWA as “an unacceptable violation of UNRWA’s privileges and immunities as a U.N. agency.” Secretary-General António Guterres echoed this condemnation, urging Israel to “immediately take all necessary steps to help restore, preserve and uphold the inviolability of UNRWA premises and refrain from taking any further action with regard to UNRWA premises in line with Israel’s obligations under the charter of the U.N. and its other obligations under international law,” according to spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
Israel, for its part, has accused UNRWA of being infiltrated by Hamas—a claim denied by both the agency and the United Nations. The U.S., once UNRWA’s largest donor, halted funding in early 2024, forcing other agencies such as the World Food Program and UNICEF to step in. Still, UNRWA remains a vital lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, and neighboring countries. “If you squeeze UNRWA out, what other agency can fill that void?” asked Tamara Alrifai, the agency’s director of external relations and communications.
Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. officials in Jerusalem to discuss the U.S.-drafted 20-point plan for Gaza, which includes the current ceasefire and future governance. Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump are set to meet on December 29, 2025, to discuss next steps. Meanwhile, Hamas has shown some willingness to discuss “freezing or storing or laying down” its weapons as part of the ceasefire, though core issues remain unresolved.
The war, which began on October 7, 2023, after a Hamas-led attack killed around 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 251 abductions, has since claimed at least 70,365 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Nearly half of the dead are women and children, and the ministry’s figures are considered reliable by the UN and other international bodies. Violence has also surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a 19-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on December 8, 2025.
In another sign of the region’s shifting security landscape, Israel began constructing a 50-mile barrier along its border with Jordan to prevent Iranian proxy threats, with a total planned security enhancement of 310 miles at a cost of about $1.7 billion.
As Gaza’s residents brace for another winter amid ruins and uncertainty, the intertwined challenges of humanitarian relief, political negotiation, and reconstruction remain daunting. The road to recovery will be long, and for many, the wait for normalcy and justice feels endless.
