Gaza city: Two years into Israel's genocide in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave is physically destroyed, socially fractured, and economically collapsed. With more than half of its population displaced, entire neighborhoods flattened, and key institutions in ruin, Gaza faces a recovery that experts warn could take decades and cost billions of dollars.
According to Anadolu Agency, a comprehensive Gaza and West Bank Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) report, released by the World Bank, EU, and the UN in February, paints a grim picture, with estimated costs of $53 billion, and short-term needs in the first three years around $20 billion. Evaluating the situation from October 2023 to January 2025, the estimated physical damages incurred are approximately $29.9 billion, with economic and social losses amounting to $19.1 billion.
Other estimates place the cost of reconstructing the enclave even higher than figures cited in the IRDNA report. The Gaza Media Office put initial losses in vital sectors at more than $70 billion, demanding an urgent plan to rebuild. Ahmed Bayram, media and communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), emphasized the global drive needed to rebuild Gaza. Mamoun Besaiso, an adviser to the UN on Gaza's reconstruction, stressed the urgent needs of Palestinians, focusing on shelter, basic services, food, medical services, and education.
Housing remains the most severely affected sector in Gaza. The IRDNA estimated $15.2 billion, or 30% of the total cost, for rebuilding homes. In the short term, three years, needs are estimated at around $3.7 billion. Israel's war on Gaza has affected the housing sector the most, incurring $15.8 billion, or 53% of damages. UN figures show significant damage to housing units, with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reporting 92% of Palestinian homes destroyed in the enclave.
Reconstruction of the health sector in Gaza will cost more than $7 billion, according to WHO estimates. The UN health agency reported significant attacks on health facilities, leading to a collapse of services. About one-third of Gaza's primary health care centers are only partially functional.
Recovery needs for education require an estimated $3.8 billion over five years, focusing on temporary learning facilities and rebuilding destroyed infrastructures. The energy sector's short-term needs are estimated at $365 million, with a long-term focus on resuming electricity supply and exploring energy imports from Egypt. The restoration of the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector amounts to $2.7 billion, addressing immediate needs and long-term strategies for water and sewage networks.
Cultural and heritage sectors have also suffered, with significant damage to heritage sites. Immediate needs focus on protecting damaged heritage, with long-term efforts on conservation and reconstruction.
Challenges on Gaza's path to rebuilding include unexploded ordnance, presence of dead bodies under rubble, and control over raw material entry by Israel. Experts express concern over funding, highlighting hesitancy among donors due to repeated cycles of destruction. Besaiso emphasized the need for a sustainable political solution and suggested an interim arrangement for managing Gaza reconstruction. He stressed that full-scale reconstruction requires Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.