'Worse than starting from scratch': how big is the task of rebuilding Gaza?

BBC Verify investigates the damage done by two years of war, which could take $70bn and decades to repair.

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The prospect of rebuilding homes, businesses and all the institutions and services needed for a return to normal life in Gaza is daunting by any measure: the UN estimates that the damage amounts to $70bn.

As Prof Andreas Krieg, a Middle East security expert from King's College London, says: "It's worse than starting from scratch - here you aren't starting in the sand, you are starting with rubble."

The level of destruction on the strip is "now in the region of 84%. In certain parts of Gaza, like in Gaza City, it's even up to 92%", says Jaco Cilliers, UN Development Programme special representative for the Palestinians.

This damage has created colossal amounts of rubble. Assessments by BBC Verify based on recent satellite data suggest there could be over 60 million tonnes of debris waiting to be cleared in Gaza.