The enormous quantities of debris generated by the war on Gaza and use of explosive weapons in the Gaza Strip pose significant risks to human health and the natural environment. The amount of debris from the war on Gaza is orders of magnitude more than that of all the debris from previous wars in the Gaza Strip since 2008. The debris situation is unprecedented not only in terms of its quantity, but equally in terms of the extent of damage to the housing stock; its geographic spread and spatial density across almost the entire territory; the rate at which debris is being generated; and the expected high levels of explosive ordnance (EO) contamination coupled with the risk of asbestos particularly in the refugee camps. Compounding these challenges are critical Housing, Land, and Property (HLP) issues. These include ownership verifications, the loss and recovery of HLP documentation, obtaining owners’ consent to initiate debris removal, permits from landowners for debris disposal, relinquishing ownership of removed debris, and the loss of clear boundary demarcations for destroyed properties, among others.
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- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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