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STORY: GAZA / UNDP DEBRIS CLEARING
TRT: 05:02
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 18 OCTOBER 2025, GAZA CITY
1. Various shots, UNDP machinery clearing debris from Al-Jalaa Street, the main thoroughfare in central Gaza City
2. Various shots, UNDP workers engaged in debris removal operations across Gaza City
3. Wide shot, the arrival of Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, accompanied by Jaco Cilliers, UNDP/PAPP Special Representative of the Administrator, at the debris removal site on Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jaco Cilliers, Special Representative of the Administrator, UNDP/PAPP:
“So UNDP is doing the very important first part of removing the debris, which is a big challenge in Gaza. There's about 55 to 60 million tons of debris that needs to be removed, similar to what is happening here behind me. The initial part is really to clear the roads and to make the hospitals, schools and other social buildings accessible, so that's where the major rubble is being removed. The size is if you build a 12-meter wall around Central Park and fill that with rubble, that's about the amount of rubble that needs to be removed. We then take it to be recycled, where we take that into a crushing process and we take the final rubble and use it for repaving the roads and also the bases for tents. It's a really cumbersome process and will take many, many years to complete.”
5. Various shots, UNDP machinery clearing debris from Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City
6. Wide shot, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs accompanied by the UNDP Representative in Palestine inspecting the ongoing debris removal works
7. Various shots, UNDP heavy machinery conducting debris removal on Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City
8. Close-up shot, a sign attached to one of the UNDP trucks reading: “Debris and Rubble Management Programme in the Gaza Strip.”
9. Various shots, UNDP workers engaged in debris removal operations in Gaza City
10. Various shots, residents manually repairing and restoring areas in front of their destroyed homes
11. Various shots, UNDP machinery clearing debris from Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched large-scale operations to remove debris from Gaza City’s main roads, in an effort to reopen key transportation routes and facilitate access to essential services such as hospitals, schools, and damaged infrastructure following the war.
On Saturday, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, visited one of the work sites on Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City, accompanied by UNDP Representative in Palestine, Jaco Cilliers, to assess the progress of debris removal, considered the first phase of a comprehensive debris management plan for the Gaza Strip.
Jaco Cilliers said, “So UNDP is doing the very important first part of removing the debris, which is a big challenge in Gaza. There's about 55 to 60 million tons of debris that needs to be removed, similar to what is happening here behind me. The initial part is really to clear the roads and to make the hospitals, schools and other social buildings accessible, so that's where the major rubble is being removed.”
He also said, “The size is if you build a 12-meter wall around Central Park and fill that with rubble, that's about the amount of rubble that needs to be removed.”
He explained that the removed materials are being crushed and processed for reuse in paving roads and constructing bases for tents and temporary facilities, as part of broader efforts to recycle resources and minimize environmental impact.
Dozens of heavy machinery units operated by UNDP could be seen along Al-Jalaa Street, working around the clock to lift debris and clear streets that have been blocked for months.
The project is viewed as a crucial first step in the long road toward Gaza’s reconstruction, as the international community faces enormous challenges in managing such vast quantities of rubble.
UNDP hopes that these efforts will pave the way for accelerating recovery projects, though officials warn that the process will require significant resources and time to complete.
