UN report estimates cost of Gaza reconstruction

The United Nations estimated on Tuesday that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by the war between Israel and Hamas, requires more than $53 billion, including more than $20 billion over the first three years.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres wrote in a report prepared at the request of the General Assembly that “the amounts necessary for the short, medium and long-term recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip are estimated at $53.142 billion. Within this amount, the short-term funding necessary for the first three years is estimated at $20.568 billion.”

The UN General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit to it within two months an assessment of the short, medium and long-term needs of the Palestinian sector. “Although it is not possible in the current context to fully assess the range of needs that will be required in the Gaza Strip, the rapid interim assessment provides a preliminary indication of the significant scale of needs in the context of recovery and reconstruction in the Strip,” the report published Tuesday said. With “more than 60 percent of homes” destroyed since October 2023, the housing sector will require about 30 percent of its reconstruction needs, or $15.2 billion.