Gaza buried under 61m tonnes of rubble: UN

A UN agency has warned that Gaza is buried under more than 61m tonnes of debris, with three-quarters of buildings in the besieged enclave destroyed after two years of war. An assessment made by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has determined that nearly two-thirds of the debris in Gaza was made in the first five months of the war. The destruction of buildings also accelerated in the months leading up to the current ceasefire. From April to July 2025, 8m tonnes of debris were generated mostly in the southern part of the territory between Rafah and Khan Younis. A preliminary analysis of UNEP also noted that 2.9m tonnes of debris could be contaminated with "hazardous waste from known industrial sites". Satellite analysis by the United Nations Satellite Centre programme also found that the Israeli army destroyed nearly 193,000 buildings in Gaza, representing about 78 percent of existing structures before the war began on 7 October 2023.