Hamas estimates Gaza war damage at $30bn

Gaza [Palestine], March 10: The war in Gaza has resulted in $30bn in damages and the destruction of as much as 80 percent of the buildings in Gaza city, the Hamas-controlled media office said on Saturday.
The overall damage is to residential buildings, economic facilities and infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water pipes and sewerage systems, the office said.
The information could not be independently verified.
Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza following the invasion of Palestinian Hamas fighters and others into Israel on October 7, which results in some 1,200 being killed and about 250 kidnapped.
Part of Israel's warfare includes massive bombardments of towns and residential areas in the densely populated Gaza Strip. Allies such as the United States have criticized the intensity of Israel's military action, which also claims many victims among the civilian population.
The Israeli military claims that it intends to crush Hamas and free the hostages.
Hamas hides behind the civilian population and operates military installations, weapons depots and command centres in the middle of residential areas, Israel says. It has shown several photos and videos of such installations over the course of the now five-month war.
As such, Israel considers it necessary to destroy a network of tunnels several hundred kilometres long created by Hamas. Bunkers and tunnels are often located under civilian facilities such as hospitals.
Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has urged Arab and Muslim nations to "work at political, legal and diplomatic levels to stop the onslaught on our people".
In a statement just before the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Haniyeh says the message is especially relevant to "the global capitals that support the occupation so they can pressure Israel to stop this heinous war on Gaza".
Humanitarian relief is urgently needed for the Palestinian people, and Israel must open the land crossings and end the siege on the Gaza Strip, he said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused the international community of falling for Israeli "blackmail" as it buys time to carry out the "extermination" and forced displacement of the Palestinian people.
In a statement issued on X, the ministry said Israel, as an occupying power, was not respecting its duties under international law to protect the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
Instead, the ministry said it was clear that Israel was "using starvation as a weapon of war" and attempting to empty the Gaza Strip of Palestinians.
The ministry accused the international community of "complicity" and "duality" for failing to pressure Israel into delivering aid and allowing it to continue "the extermination of our people."
The war in Gaza has "ruptured any sense of a shared humanity," the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.
ICRC head Mirjana Spoljaric called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel and Hamas must respect international law and protect civilians caught up in their conflict. She said getting a steady, substantial flow of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory - where the United Nations says more than 90 percent of the population is on the brink of famine - was "only part of the solution".
"Alleviating the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza starts with a clear will and measures that safeguard civilian life and human dignity, meaning both sides must conduct their military operations in a way that spares the civilians who are caught in the middle," Spoljaric said.
"The only way to achieve this is that the parties strictly adhere to international humanitarian law, which means preserving the life, dignity and humanity of all people affected by armed conflict, regardless of which side they are on."
Source: Qatar Tribune