UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes, who toured Gaza today, has called the loss of life and destruction from Israel's attack "extremely shocking".
More than 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the 3-week war and thousands were wounded.
On the first day of his five-day visit to Gaza to assess the humanitarian needs, Mr. Holmes said the biggest concerns are providing clean water, sanitation, electricity and shelter to people displaced by the fighting. He added that Gaza's blockaded border crossings will have to be opened to allow reconstruction to begin.
Mr. Holmes also told UN Radio that it would be reasonable for Israel to pay for the hundreds of tons of food and other supplies destroyed when Israeli shells struck the main United Nations compound in Gaza.
John Holmes
"We need to make sure that investigations take place and that at that stage, I imagine, questions of compensation will arise because there was obviously damage to UN infromations, UN workand UN staff."
Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.