The United Nations Calls A Number Of Countries Willing To Help Fund Gaza Reconstruction

JAKARTA - European and Arab countries, Canada and the United States appear willing to contribute to the funding for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, which is estimated at $70 billion, said a UN official on Tuesday, adding the two-year war there had resulted in debris equivalent to 13 times the size of the Giza Pyramids.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) official Jaco Cilliers said the Hamas-Israel war had generated at least 55 million tons of debris and took decades to fully recover.

"We have heard very positive news from a number of our partners, including European Canadian partners" about their willingness to help, he told a news conference, adding there were also discussions with the US.

Since the ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza, large numbers of Palestinians have returned to the rubble of their homes in the coastal area.

Most of Gaza's territory has been in the desert as a result of two years of Israeli bombings that killed some 68,000 people, according to Gaza's health authorities.

Most of the damage occurred in Gaza, the location of some of the fiercest fighting. About 83 percent of the entire building structure there has been damaged, according to the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT).

UNDP said it had cleared about 81,000 tonnes of debris from the Gaza Strip and was continuing to do so, with Climateers warning the process could take some time "dept.."