Rebuilding Gaza to cost seven times more than all previous wars

In a new report co-written with Palestinian groups, Oxfam says the reconstruction of Gaza will cost at least $71.4 billion Gaza has been utterly devastated by over two years of genocidal Israeli war. [Getty] The reconstruction of Gaza will cost at least seven times more than every previous attempt to rebuild the devastated coastal enclave combined and will not succeed without Palestinian leadership, the UK charity Oxfam warned on Thursday. Oxfam, together with Palestinian NGOs have presented world leaders with a plan for Gaza's recovery "that puts Palestinian ownership and accountability for Israel's genocide at its core", the charity said in a statement. It estimated the total cost of rebuilding Gaza at a staggering $71.4 billion, pointing out that this was seven times combined the cost of rebuilding the devastated territory after previous Israeli wars, such as the ones in 2008-9, 2014, and 2021. Richard Hawkes, the chief executive of Oxfam's UK branch, said "The [UK] government must take the lead in ensuring Palestinians are the primary decision-makers in rebuilding the Gaza Strip and should no longer suffer the devastating consequences of the Israeli Government’s ongoing genocide and aid blockade in Gaza." He added that the UK government "must show its commitment to international law by ending the sale to Israel of arms that are used in violation of international law", while stopping all trade with illegal Israeli settlements. Oxfam's report, entitled "Building Gaza Anew," was authored after consultations across Gaza and presented to Trump’s Board of Peace and world leaders. It underlines that Palestinians must lead the process, saying that any plan imposed from outside will fail, no matter how much is invested in it. It estimates that the total cost of recovery in 2008-9, 2014, and 2021 were around $10 billion at today's prices—much less than what is needed to build Gaza today. However at every single one of these instances, reconstruction was stopped by continued Israeli blockade and siege and donor shortfalls. More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, while over 173,000 have been injured by Israeli attacks since October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. 1.9 million have been forcibly displaced out of a total population of 2.3 million, and human development set back an estimated 77 years. According the UN-EU-World Bank Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) of April 2026, Gaza has suffered $57.9 billion in total damage and economic losses, with an estimated $71.4 billion required for recovery and reconstruction over the next decade. The report includes information about the intangible damage that the war has caused—damage to Gaza's knowledge, care systems, environment, and social bonds. "What was destroyed in Gaza was not merely steel and concrete. Israel eradicated an entire social and economic world, built up over generations, and only Palestinians can rebuild it," said Mohammad Skaik, the Gaza Program Manager at PalTrade. "Reconstruction is not only a humanitarian task; it is a political one. A plan designed in foreign capitals, however well-funded, would be a cosmetic exercise—simply another form of control over Palestinian land and lives. Our consultations across Gaza carried one unmistakable message: nothing about our future without us," added Misyef Jamil, Senior Researcher at MAS. Related Articles