Rebuilding Gaza to cost $71bn, must include Palestinians, report finds

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that a new joint report by Oxfam, the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute and the Palestine Trade Centre says Gaza’s reconstruction will require an estimated $71.4bn over 10 years and must be shaped directly by Palestinians. The figure draws on an April Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment by the UN, EU and World Bank, which put damage and economic losses at $57.9bn and said $26.3bn would be needed in the first 18 months to restore basic services and critical infrastructure.

According to the article, the report says the cost is about seven times the total of all reconstruction efforts after Gaza’s major wars since 2008. Al Jazeera cites the toll of more than two years of war as at least 73,000 Palestinians killed, 173,000 injured and 1.9 million displaced. It also reports widespread damage to homes, schools and hospitals, along with major losses to cultural and social infrastructure.

The report highlights rubble clearance as a major precondition for rebuilding, with an estimated 66 million tonnes of debris across Gaza. Al Jazeera says the debris may include unexploded ordnance, hazardous materials and human remains, with 8,000 to 11,000 Palestinians believed to be buried under collapsed structures.

The proposed five-year roadmap is divided into emergency stabilisation, early recovery, medium-term reconstruction and long-term development, with costs listed at roughly $10bn, $15bn, $25bn and $20bn respectively. The plan envisages cooperation with the EU, Gulf states, Egypt, the UN and other agencies, but its central argument is that reconstruction should not be imposed externally and should place Palestinian institutions, workers and communities at the centre.