UN aid chief foresees ‘massive, massive job’ ahead in ruined Gaza

The United Nations’ aid chief took stock of the monumental task of restoring basic necessities in the devastated Gaza Strip on Oct 18, as Israel and Hamas exchanged more human remains.

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In a short convoy of white UN jeeps, relief coordinator Tom Fletcher and his team wound their way through the twisted rubble of shattered homes to inspect a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City.

“I drove through here seven or eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing... This is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland, and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he said.

The densely packed cities of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians, have been reduced to ruins by two years of bombardment and intense fighting between Hamas and the Israeli army.

Just over a week since US President Donald Trump helped broker a truce, the main border crossing to Egypt has yet to be reopened, but hundreds of trucks roll in daily via Israeli checkpoints, and aid is being distributed.

Hamas has returned the final 20 surviving hostages it was holding and has begun to hand over the remains of another 28 who died.

Late on Oct 17, it turned over a set of remains identified by Israel as Mr Eliyahu Margalit, 75, who died in the October 2023 attack that ignited the war in Gaza.

On Oct 18, in line with the terms of the ceasefire deal, Israel returned the bodies of 15 more Palestinians to Gaza, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.