Gaza reconstruction bill rises as report warns of worsening shortages and fresh deaths
A new report says rebuilding Gaza will cost about $71.4bn, or €61bn, after nearly two years of war and widespread destruction. The assessment says the money would be needed over the coming years to restore homes, hospitals, schools, roads, water networks and other essential infrastructure. It comes as violence on the ground has continued despite a formal ceasefire agreed in October.
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The report was published by Oxfam with the Palestine Trade Center and the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute. It says Israeli military attacks over the past week killed dozens of Palestinians, including seven children, while the United Nations said on Tuesday that nowhere in Gaza is safe for Palestinians. The report also warns that living conditions are deteriorating quickly, with a severe shortage of food expected in the coming months.
The findings add to the scale of the humanitarian and reconstruction challenge facing Gaza. Oxfam Ireland's chief executive, Jim Clarkin, said the medical system has been pushed to the brink of total collapse, with fewer than half of health facilities functioning at any level and basic medical supplies in short supply. He also said 90% of school buildings have been destroyed or heavily damaged, leaving education in a highly informal state.
The report matters because it links immediate wartime damage with the longer-term question of how Gaza could recover at all. It says food security has reached Level 3 on international tracking scales, indicating a crisis, and warns of an acute food shortage over the next few months. That places reconstruction alongside urgent humanitarian needs, rather than as a separate post-conflict task.
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The scale of the damage described in the report is consistent with earlier assessments that have pointed to severe losses across housing, public services and the wider economy. The authors say the destruction will require an unprecedented international mobilisation. They also argue that Palestinians must be directly involved in planning and delivery, rather than having reconstruction designed entirely from outside the territory.
The report says the war has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians, injured 172,000 and displaced 1.9 million people. It also says at least a quarter of those injured have suffered life-altering trauma, while many more remain under the rubble. The assessment describes a territory where basic services, education and healthcare have all been deeply disrupted.
It remains unclear how reconstruction would be funded, coordinated or protected from further damage while violence continues. The report does not set out a timetable, but says debris removal and essential services would have to come first. What happens next will depend on whether the ceasefire holds, whether access improves, and whether Palestinian institutions are given a central role in planning.
A new report says rebuilding Gaza will cost an estimated $71.4bn, as the enclave continues to face the aftermath of more than two years of war. The assessment says reconstruction cannot move forward without direct Palestinian involvement in planning and delivery. It also says human development in Gaza has been set back by 77 years.
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The report was produced by Oxfam, the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute, and the Palestine Trade Centre. It draws on the UN-EU-World Bank Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment released in April, which estimated that Gaza would need more than $71.4bn over 10 years for recovery and reconstruction. That assessment also put total damage and economic losses at $57.9bn, and said $26.3bn would be needed in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure, and support economic recovery.
The new report says the war has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians, injured 173,000, and displaced 1.9 million people. It says the scale of destruction covers housing, education, healthcare, and cultural life, including the loss of mosques, museums, and other landmarks. Before reconstruction can begin, it says an estimated 66 million tonnes of rubble must be cleared, leaving entire neighbourhoods affected by debris.
The findings underline the scale of the challenge facing any post-war recovery plan in Gaza. They also add to the debate over who should shape reconstruction, with the report arguing that plans designed outside the territory would amount to another form of control over Palestinian land and lives. That argument places local participation at the centre of a process that will require funding, coordination, and access on a very large scale.
The report says the cost of rebuilding Gaza is seven times the combined cost of all previous rebuilding efforts in the territory over the past two decades. It also says the destruction from the current war is far greater than in earlier rounds of fighting, with long-term consequences for public services, livelihoods, and the wider economy. The comparison is intended to show that recovery will not be a short-term repair effort but a prolonged reconstruction process.
What remains unclear is how reconstruction would be organised, who would fund it, and what political arrangements would allow work to begin. The report does not set out a timetable for implementation, but it says the first phase must focus on essential services and debris removal. The next stage will depend on whether Palestinian institutions are directly included in planning and whether conditions on the ground allow large-scale rebuilding to start.
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