Gaza would need over $71 billion for recovery after two years of war, EU and UN warned Monday, as damage to homes, hospitals, and schools leaves most people displaced.
More than $71 billion (€60.3bn) will be needed over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction in war-ravaged Gaza, according to an EU-UN assessment published Monday.
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In their final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), the United Nations and the European Union said that more than two years of war in the Palestinian territory "has led to unprecedented loss of life and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis".
"Recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated at around $71.4 billion," said the assessment, developed in coordination with the World Bank.
Much of Gaza — including schools, hospitals and other civic infrastructure — has been reduced to rubble by a withering Israel-Hamas war that started in October 2023.
The final assessment determined that $26.3 billion (€22.3bn) would be required in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery.
"Physical infrastructure damages are estimated at $35.2 billion, with economic and social losses amounting to $22.7 billion," a joint statement said.
Gaza is under a fragile ceasefire agreed last October, which followed two years of devastating conflict sparked by the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures tallied by AFP. Palestinian militants also abducted 251 hostages, held in the Strip until their release was secured by the ceasefire deal.
The Israeli military campaign has resulted in the deaths of more than 72,000 in the Strip, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable.
'Immense scale of need'
According to the RDNA, some 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, more than 50% of hospitals in the territory are non-functional, and nearly all schools have been destroyed or damaged.
At the same time, 1.9 million people — nearly Gaza's entire population — have been displaced, often multiple times, and more than 60% of the population had lost their homes, the assessment found.
Gaza's economy has contracted by 84%, it said.
"The scale and extent of deprivation across living conditions, livelihoods/income, food security, gender equality, and social inclusion, have pushed back human development in the Gaza Strip by 77 years," the assessment said.
The UN and the EU stressed that "given the immense scale of need, recovery efforts must run in parallel with humanitarian action" in Gaza, ensuring a "transition from emergency relief toward reconstruction at scale".
They insisted that the recovery and reconstruction needed to be "Palestinian-led" and incorporate approaches that actively support the transfer of governance to the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2803.
That resolution, which was adopted last November, welcomed the creation of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace to support Gaza's reconstruction.
The UN and the EU also emphasised that "a set of enabling conditions" was needed for the resolution to be implemented effectively on the ground.
They included, in particular, "a sustained ceasefire and adequate security," "unimpeded humanitarian access and immediate restoration of essential services," and "free movement of people, goods, and reconstruction materials, within and between Gaza and the West Bank."
Without such conditions, they warned, "neither recovery nor reconstruction can succeed".