A joint UN, EU, and World Bank report estimates that reconstruction of the Gaza Strip will cost $53.2 billion over the coming decade, highlighting the crippling economic cost of Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory.
The Gaza and West Bank Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) report outlines extensive damage to almost every sector of Gaza’s economy and points to the urgency of having to rebuild.
“Destruction of physical infrastructure alone is estimated at approximately $30 billion,” states the report, with the housing sector accounting for 53% of the total damages, followed by commerce and industry at 20%.
Economic losses due to suspended productivity, lost sales, and operating costs tally up to a total of $19 billion, with health, education, and commerce being the most affected.
The war has effectively brought Gaza’s economy to a standstill, driving prices sky-high—food prices have risen by 450% alone. The enclave economy will shrink by 83% in 2024, cutting its contribution to the Palestinian economy to a mere 3%, even though it is home to 40% of the population. Even the West Bank is not that great, with a forecast 16% shrinkage in this year’s economy.
A January 19 Gaza ceasefire ended months of Israeli shelling that killed nearly 48,300 Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children, and razed the territory.
For this, warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have been issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel also has a genocide case pending before the International Court of Justice.
Former US President Donald Trump, on the other hand, proposed a controversial plan to “take over” Gaza and resettle its Palestinian inhabitants, where it would be the “Riviera of the Middle East.” The proposal was roundly criticized by Palestinians, Arab states, and most Western countries, calling it ethnic cleansing.
At the same time, Egypt declared a comprehensive plan to reconstruct Gaza without evacuating its residents. Cairo will host an emergency Arab summit on March 4 to discuss reconstruction, while Arab leaders will gather in Riyadh on Feb. 20 to decide on a course of action against Trump’s proposal.
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