Gaza residents face an almost impossible task of rebuilding their city that had sustained 50 days of war between Israel and Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization dominating the Gaza strip.

According to the United Nations, it will take years to rebuild Gaza. Entire neighborhoods have to be rebuilt in addition to relocating displaced communities and restoring power supply.

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To do this, Gaza will have to raise billions of dollars, keep international aid flowing, resolve its internal political conflict and contend with the wall barricade that limits construction materials from entering the territory, Reuters reported.

Palestinian authorities said that rebuilding 11,000 demolished structures and more than 50,000 damaged structures will cost US$7 billion, according to The New York Times. This is nearly three times Gaza strip's gross domestic product.

The amount excludes the US$250 million dollars needed to restore power supply in the area and the US$2.5 billion needed to reconstruct homes, Reuters reported.

But to the residents of Gaza, the 50-day war did more than reduce large swathes of the city to rubble. It robbed Gazans of life and hope to live for, said Karmel Makadma, a 14-year-old resident quoted in a Channel News Asia report.

Makadma is among the 500 residents who lost their homes when Al Zafer Tower was felled during the final days of the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

The Israeli military said multiple floors in the tower were used by the Hamas as command and control center throughout the recent Israel-Hamas war, reported The New York Times.

The 50-day war is the third seen in Gaza in the last five years. It began with the abduction and subsequent killing of three Israeli teenagers by the Hamas.

The war claimed more than 1,200 lives, many of which are children and innocent civilians, according to U.N. and Palestinian authorities. On the Israeli side, 66 soldiers reportedly died in the conflict including six civilians who were killed.

The fighting ended in August 26 with an Egypt-brokered cease-fire.

TagsIsrael-Hamas conflict, Israel-Hamas war, Gaza Strip, Gaza City, Palestine