New York, Feb. 18 (SANA) A senior United Nations official called for expanded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, saying about 90% of residents are living amid rubble while thousands await medical evacuation.
Alexander De Croo, head of the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), told reporters Tuesday after visiting Gaza that living conditions are severe. He said UNDP is implementing a three-part recovery plan focused on clearing debris, providing temporary housing and supporting the private sector.
Only about 0.5% of the total rubble has been removed so far, De Croo said, warning that at the current pace it could take up to seven years to complete the clearance. He noted that unexploded ordnance and damaged infrastructure pose significant health and safety risks.
UNDP has built 500 temporary housing units and has 4,000 more ready, but De Croo estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 units are needed to substantially improve living conditions. The units are intended as interim support rather than full reconstruction.
He urged Israeli authorities to ease restrictions on access for international organizations and allow the entry of materials required for debris removal and recovery efforts.
Separately, the World Health Organization said that since the reopening of the Rafah crossing, about 260 patients have been evacuated out of roughly 18,500 awaiting treatment unavailable inside Gaza.
WHO said medical evacuations remain limited due to access constraints and renewed its call to reopen referral routes to the West Bank and allow additional medical supplies and equipment into the territory.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said the conflict has caused extensive damage to Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure, reporting sharp declines in livestock survival rates and estimating that only 37% of farmland remains cultivable.
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