Israeli bombardment and ground operations in Gaza have transformed entire neighbourhoods into rubble-strewn wastelands, with blackened shells of buildings and mounds of debris stretching out in all directions.

Major roads have been ploughed up. Critical water and electricity infrastructure is in ruins. Most hospitals no longer function.

The United Nations says that it could take more than 350 years to rebuild if the blockade remains.

The full extent of the damage will only be known when the fighting ends and inspectors have full access to the territory.

The most heavily destroyed part of Gaza, in the north, had been sealed off and largely depopulated by Israeli forces in an operation that began in early October.

Using satellite data, the United Nations estimated last month that 69 percent of the structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, including at least 245,000 homes.

The World Bank estimated $18.5bn in damage – nearly the combined economic output of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022 – from just the first four months of the war.

Before anything can be rebuilt, the rubble must be removed – a staggering task in itself.

The UN estimates that the war has littered Gaza with at least 50 million tonnes of rubble – roughly 12 times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. With more than 100 trucks working full time, it would take more than 15 years to clear the rubble, and there is little open space in the narrow coastal territory that is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.