UN: Gaza war rubble to take year to clear

Palestinian workers will need one year to clear a half million tons of concrete rubble from Gaza Strip districts bombed and bulldozed by Israeli forces during their winter offensive, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The United Nations Development Program was beginning its rubble removal project six months after the 3-week war ended on Jan. 18, with still no idea of when organized reconstruction could begin, said the UNDP's Jens-Anders Toyberg-Frandzen.

"At the moment we cannot rebuild. That is of course very sad. We don't have access to cement, we don't have access to construction material because of the borders being closed. So we cannot build houses," he said.

Thousands of buildings were destroyed during Israel's Operation Cast Lead, launched on Dec. 27 with the declared aim of forcing Hamas other Palestinian groups to stop firing rockets and mortars at Israeli towns.

Whole districts were razed during the operation to minimize the risk of Israeli casualties from guerrilla small-arms attacks and booby-trap bombs, and to open up fields of fire for Israeli tanks, artillery and armored infantry units in Gaza.

Israel prohibits the import of cement and steel reinforcing rods on the grounds that they could be used for military purposes by Hamas, such as constructing defenses. But these are also the materials the people of Gaza build their homes with.

"The UN is constantly advocating for opening of the borders so that material can come in for humanitarian purposes, and also to be able to ensure or help the Palestinians in Gaza get a reasonable and decent life again," the UNDP representative said. "But we haven't succeeded so far."

The rubble - estimated to total 600,000 tons according to the UNDP - is to be collected at a central dump where it will later be crushed and used for new construction - whenever that can begin in earnest.