Gaza $71B Rebuild Need
- An EU‑UN assessment says Gaza will need more than $71 billion for recovery and reconstruction over the next decade. - The report says housing, hospitals and schools suffered severe damage and most residents were displaced. - Aid delivery is constrained and Israel is accused of hindering access, worsening the humanitarian shortfall ( ).
Gaza will need $71.4 billion over the next decade to recover and rebuild, according to a new assessment by the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank. (palestine.un.org) The agencies released the final Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment on April 20, 2026, after 24 months of war. It says $26.3 billion is needed in the first 18 months alone to restore basic services, rebuild critical infrastructure and restart the economy. (palestine.un.org) The report puts physical damage at $35.2 billion and economic and social losses at $22.7 billion. It says 371,888 housing units were destroyed or damaged, more than half of hospitals are non-functional, and nearly all schools were destroyed or damaged. (palestine.un.org) About 1.9 million people have been displaced, often more than once, and more than 60% of Gaza’s population has lost its home. The assessment says Gaza’s economy has contracted by 84% and human development has been pushed back by 77 years. (palestine.un.org) The estimate is not a construction bid. It is a damage-and-needs survey, meant to show how much money would be required to repair homes, reopen hospitals and schools, restore water and power systems, and support families and businesses while that happens. (unsco.unmissions.org) The authors also warn that the numbers were assembled under severe access limits. They say most data had to be gathered remotely and checked against multiple sources because teams could not move freely across Gaza. (unsco.unmissions.org) That matters for the aid effort now, not just for long-term rebuilding. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on April 2 that tightened restrictions, continued strikes and supply constraints were limiting what aid workers could deliver in Gaza. (ochaopt.org) The same United Nations update said damage to an electricity line serving desalination in southern Gaza cut drinking water availability for an estimated 500,000 people. It also said cooking gas shortages had forced nearly half of families to burn unsafe waste to prepare food. (ochaopt.org) Israel says it is facilitating humanitarian assistance and argues that Hamas diverts supplies. COGAT, the Israeli military body that manages civilian coordination with Gaza, said this week that markets were stocked and that Hamas was using aid and food shortages for “terrorist purposes.” (gaza-aid-data.gov.il; jns.org) The rebuilding plan in the assessment is tied to a political track as well as a funding gap. The report says recovery should be Palestinian-led and linked to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on November 17, 2025, which endorsed a broader plan to end the Gaza conflict and redevelop the territory. (palestine.un.org; digitallibrary.un.org) For now, the number on the table is $71.4 billion, but the report says money alone will not rebuild Gaza without access, functioning governance and a durable ceasefire. (palestine.un.org)
