A freed Palestinian prisoner (centre), is greeted by a crowd as he arrives in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, Saturday, January 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
There is an “expectation” that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip will begin soon, Palestine’s acting Ambassador to India said on Saturday (January 25, 2025), calling on India to be an “essential and important” part of the process. His statement came even as Israel and Hamas conducted their second exchange of hostages and prisoners since the ceasefire was announced a week ago.
If the ceasefire, which began on January 19 as part of a three-phase process, continues to hold, U.N. agencies are expected to begin discussions on clearing an estimated 50 million tonnes of rubble, and rebuilding thousands of homes in Gaza, where more than 45,000 have been killed in bombing by Israeli forces in retaliation for the October 7 terror attacks.
“We hope for the successful implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza,” Palestinian Charge D’Affaires Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer told The Hindu, adding that the Palestinian government hopes for a “new phase that alleviates the pain of the people of Gaza and meets all their basic needs as well as the basic need of the Palestinian people of independence and the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Reconstruction process
Mr. Abu Jazer, who represents the Palestinian authority based in Ramallah in the West Bank, said that his government looks forward to India’s contribution to the reconstruction process along with the international community “by assisting in cooperation with the Palestinian government in implementing the vital projects that Gaza needs”. Since 2007, when Hamas militants overthrew the Fatah-led Palestinian government and took control of Gaza, the Palestinian government has not administered Gaza, but his comments indicate that it hopes to have a greater say in Gaza during the reconstruction phase.
India established a “Representative Office” in Gaza in 1996, but moved it to Ramallah in 2003, and has helped build and maintain the Palestinian Embassy in New Delhi. Over the years, India has provided about $40 million to support the U.N.’s activities for Palestinians, and since 2017, the Modi government increased its support to the U.N. Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) from $1 million a year to $5 million a year. Since the beginning of the latest phase of the conflict in October 2023, the Indian government has provided about 70 metric tonnes of humanitarian aid, including medicines, to the Palestinian Ministry of Health as well.
Private sector welcome
“Palestine also welcomes various Indian companies from the private sector to contribute to reconstruction, just like any of the international private sector companies that expect to work through the Palestinian government in the reconstruction of Gaza,” Mr. Abu Jazer said, adding that there were high expectations from India based on its “international importance, regional status, its historical relations with the Palestinian people and leadership, and its distinguished relations with the Middle East/West Asia under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
Officials said that no specific conversations have yet taken place on the projects or sectors that India could take part in. As part of an MoU with the Israeli Labour Agency, India has sent about 6,583 workers dealing with construction, welding and ceramic tiling to Israeli territories since February 2024, demonstrating its capacity to send skilled labour if required.
Extensive damage
According to a “damage assessment report” released by the United Nations last month and a satellite-enabled “preliminary debris quantification” survey infographic released this week, the reconstruction of Gaza will require clearing over 50 million tonnes of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment and could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion. In addition to hazardous materials in the rubble, the Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates that 10,000 bodies are missing under the debris as well.
“Two-thirds of Gaza’s pre-war structures – over 170,000 buildings – have been damaged or flattened, according to U.N. satellite data (UNOSAT) in December. That amounts to around 69% of the total structures in the Gaza Strip,” the Reuters news agency reported this week.
Published – January 25, 2025 10:54 pm IST
