Gaza reconstruction envisages building ‘islands’ out of rubble Across the Gaza Strip, vast piles of debris scar the landscape. More than two years of war between Hamas fighters and Israel have left the enclave covered with nearly 57 million tonnes of shattered concrete and other rubble. With three quarters of Gaza’s built environment now destroyed, several reconstruction scenarios are under consideration. One of the most technically and politically sensitive options is to recycle debris to extend the enclave’s Mediterranean coastline and create artificial islands offshore. Recycling constraints This approach has the advantage of absorbing part of the enormous volume of war debris while reducing the need for dredging and the extraction of new materials for building use. However, the UN Environment Programme ( UNEP ) cautioned that there is not enough rubble available for the massive engineering project.…