Naji Sarhan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in the Gaza Strip, revealed on Sunday new details about the houses that are still destroyed by the Israeli wars, as well as on the field search is underway to identify the homes of poor families who need to rebuild or restoration.
Sarhan explained in the program "Meeting with an official" organized by the Ministry of Information in Gaza, that there are about 2250 housing units were demolished during the 2014 war and before, and does not have any funding to rebuild.
He said that the total amount required to rebuild completely demolished houses $ 85 million, in addition to $ 90 million required to repair 160 thousand other housing units partially damaged, pointing out that there is a large financial deficit to provide the requirements of those units.
He pointed out that there are financial pledges to build 9750 thousand housing units demolished during the previous wars.
In a related context, Sarhan said that his ministry launched a field research initiative to update the database of poor families and social situations that need help in finding housing, pointing out that tens of thousands suffer from the lack of adequate shelter because of the economic situation, and their inability to rehabilitate their homes because The difficult circumstances in light of the siege and the continued Israeli aggressions caused a total collapse in various sectors, and the high poverty rates to unprecedented levels, which reflected on the housing sector.
Naji Sarhan said that 25 thousand inhabited housing units need to be rebuilt, and about 60 thousand need to be restored and rehabilitation that meets the minimum amount of housing suitable for families.
He explained that the deficit in housing units in Gaza is estimated at 120 thousand units and the sector needs about 14 thousand housing units annually to meet the natural population increase.
He pointed out that there is coordination with an international organization to provide nearly $ 10 million in favor of projects to restore poor families and social situations, pointing out that the negotiations are in their final stages.
Sarhan said that the aim of the ministry is to enable families to have access to adequate housing according to sound urban, environmental and economic standards, and to improve the urban and residential environment, and to rehabilitate and organize informal settlements and urban areas.
He added that during the past five years, his ministry has received tens of thousands of requests for new housing or the restoration of other houses, noting that the research has been launched to update the data despite the modest possibility, in coordination with institutions such as the Palestinian Employment Fund and the United Nations Development Program (UNDB).
He pointed out that the survey and inventory began last June and will continue until December.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing pointed out that 41 thousand applications arrived to the Ministry by more than 50% of the poor families registered with the Ministry of Social Development, and that a field survey was conducted for 24 thousand of them.
