Mr. De Croo, who chose Gaza for his first overseas visit since being appointed to the top job in November 2025, called for an expansion of access to the occupied territory for UN agencies to strengthen efforts to remove rubble and waste, provide shelter and medical equipment and evacuate patients.

On Monday, Mr. De Croo visited Firas Market in downtown Gaza City, where around 370,000 tonnes of waste had piled up during the two-year war as garbage collection and sewage systems collapsed, turning it into a massive, foul-smelling landfill.

‘It will take us seven years to remove all the rubble’

UNDP bulldozers began removing the waste a week ago, creating a glimmer of hope for Palestinians, with the aim of reopening the market as an economic hub. The UN entity is also involved in ensuring shelter, basic services, and education and health needs are met.

Speaking to the media from Jerusalem, following his three-day trip to Gaza and the West Bank, Mr. De Croo, formerly a Minister for Development in the Belgian government, said that the living conditions were the worst he had ever seen and that, so far, only 0.5 per cent of the rubble in Gaza has been removed.

“At the current pace, it will take us seven years to remove all the rubble,” he said. “We need to have more capacity to do rubble removal and rubble recycling. 90 per cent of the people of Gaza today live in the middle of that rubble, which is extremely dangerous”.

The vast majority of Gazans are still living in rudimentary tents, which the UNDP is beginning to replace with recovery housing units. 4,000 of them are ready, but up to 300,000 are needed for the population.

“We understand the security concerns of the Israeli authorities”, explained Mr. De Croo, “but that should not be a reason to refuse access to organisations such as UNDP, other UN organizations and international NGOs.”