ISTANBUL 

Clearing the Gaza Strip of the rubble caused by a deadly Israeli offensive will take about 15 years, the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday. 

"It would take up to 15 years to clear around 40 million tons of war rubble in Gaza," UNRWA said, citing an assessment by the UN Environment Program (UNEP).

It said the removal of the war debris in Gaza will need over 100 trucks and cost over $500 million.

"Debris poses a deadly threat for people in the Gaza Strip as it can contain unexploded ordnance and harmful substances," the UN agency added.

Last month, Israel's Army Radio, citing military officials, said around 50,000 bombs have been dropped on Gaza by Israeli warplanes since last Oct. 7, adding that between 2,000-3,000 bombs did not explode.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 38,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 89,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar