Pevita Pearce
Published: July 22, 2026
As the international community grapples with the staggering scale of destruction in the Gaza Strip, a landmark report titled Building Gaza Anew has been released, challenging the global status quo regarding humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Published by Oxfam in collaboration with the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) and the Palestine Trade Centre (PalTrade), the report provides a radical, Palestinian-led vision for recovery. It arrives at a critical juncture, as world leaders face the daunting task of addressing a $71.4 billion reconstruction bill—a figure seven times higher than the combined costs of all previous major military offensives in the territory over the past two decades.
The report serves not merely as an economic assessment but as a political manifesto. It argues that for Gaza to recover, the international community must move beyond the "charity model" that has historically fueled cycles of destruction and instead embrace a framework of rights, reparations, and, above all, Palestinian self-determination.
The Scale of Ruin: A Decade of Setbacks
The $71.4 billion requirement, identified in the April 2026 UN-EU-World Bank Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), represents more than just the cost of steel, concrete, and infrastructure. It reflects the systematic erasure of human development. According to the data, the current crisis has set Gaza’s human development progress back an estimated 77 years.
The human cost is immeasurable: over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, 173,000 have sustained life-altering injuries, and 1.9 million have been forcibly displaced. Beyond these statistics lies the "deliberate erasure of the social fabric"—the loss of mosques, churches, libraries, cultural institutions, and the complex community bonds that define a society.
A Chronology of Endless Rebuilding
To understand why the current $71.4 billion figure is so staggering, one must look at the history of the "reconstruction trap."
- 2008–2009: Following the "Cast Lead" offensive, recovery needs were estimated in the billions. However, the subsequent blockade and the denial of access for construction materials meant that rebuilding was hampered from the outset.
- 2014: The devastating 50-day war resulted in massive infrastructure loss. Even a decade later, many families remained displaced, waiting for homes that were never completed as aid flowed in trickles, heavily restricted by Israeli security protocols.
- 2021: Another wave of destruction occurred before the previous damage had been addressed.
- 2025–2026: The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry officially concluded that the actions in Gaza constituted genocide. The current destruction has eclipsed all previous conflicts, rendering previous aid models entirely obsolete.
The pattern has been consistent: the international community funds the rubble, yet refuses to address the root cause—the occupation and blockade. Consequently, every structure built is eventually destroyed by the next cycle of violence, leading to what observers describe as "perpetual reconstruction without development."
The "Building Gaza Anew" Blueprint
The report by Oxfam, MAS, and PalTrade marks a departure from previous donor-led initiatives. It explicitly rejects externally imposed models, including any form of international trusteeship that would bypass Palestinian agency. Instead, the blueprint centers on a five-year recovery framework characterized by:
- Palestinian Ownership: Recovery programs must be designed and managed by Palestinian institutions to ensure that the rebuilding process serves the needs of the population, not the security interests of the occupier.
- Rights-Based Reparations: The report frames reconstruction as a matter of justice. Given that international bodies have documented genocide, those who funded, armed, or shielded the destruction bear a legal and moral responsibility to pay for its repair.
- National Integration: The vision rejects the territorial fragmentation of Palestine. Any successful reconstruction must link the recovery of Gaza with the broader political reality of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, under a single, unified national vision.
- Dismantling the Blockade: The report warns that without an immediate end to the blockade and the restrictive access regimes, any amount of money—no matter how large—will fail. Construction requires the free flow of goods, labor, and movement.
Official Responses: "Stop Funding the Rubble"
Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International, has been vocal in his critique of the international community’s current trajectory. "Gaza has never been allowed to finish rebuilding," Behar stated upon the report’s release. "This is not fate. It is Israel’s illegal occupation and blockade, and the impunity producing the same result, war after war. Every government that funds the rubble but never the reckoning is complicit in it."
The sentiment is echoed by local partners on the ground. Mohammad Skaik, Gaza Program Manager at PalTrade, noted: "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."
Misyef Jamil, a Senior Researcher at MAS, emphasized the political necessity of the plan: "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."
Implications for Global Policy
As the 81st session of the UN General Assembly approaches, the Building Gaza Anew report serves as a "litmus test" for world leaders. The implications for the international community are profound:
1. The End of Complicity
The report argues that donor nations cannot continue to act as "humanitarian neutral" actors. If a state has participated in or shielded the actions that led to the genocide, they have an affirmative obligation to fund the reconstruction as a form of reparation.
2. Moving Beyond Profit-Driven Models
There is a growing concern that reconstruction will be hijacked by private, profit-driven contractors who prioritize high-speed, high-cost projects over the sustainable, community-led restoration of social infrastructure. The report calls for coordination with the EU, Egypt, and the Arab Gulf states to ensure that the recovery is anchored in international law and shielded from exploitation.
3. The Necessity of a Political Horizon
Perhaps the most critical takeaway is the warning that reconstruction is futile without a political end to the occupation. The report demands that world leaders commit to a political horizon that guarantees Palestinian self-determination. Without this, the international community is simply preparing the stage for future destruction.
Conclusion: The Final Rebuild?
The cost of $71.4 billion is a haunting indictment of the past twenty years of policy failure. However, the Building Gaza Anew report offers a path forward that is grounded in the dignity and agency of the Palestinian people.
"The world has become very good at costing Gaza’s destruction but very bad at stopping it," Behar concluded. The choice facing the Board of Peace and the international donor community is stark: they can continue to fund a cycle of endless destruction, or they can back a Palestinian-led plan that dismantles the blockade, demands accountability, and allows Gaza to be rebuilt for the last time.
The report has been handed to world leaders; the question remains whether they have the political courage to shift from being financiers of rubble to partners in a sovereign future.
Layla Zulfa
Asro
