Category World News

After 15 months of Israel’s devastating war, the UN, the European Union, and the World Bank have released a new assessment that calls for more than $50 billion to be spent on reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

The figures come as Arab nations scramble to find a workable recovery strategy for the 2 million residents of the Palestinian enclave, as suggested by US President Donald Trump.

The Gaza &amp, West Bank Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA), published on Tuesday, calculated that Israel’s war on Gaza caused $49bn in destruction between October 8, 2023 and October 8, 2024.

According to research, the Palestinian territory’s recovery and reconstruction will now require $ 53.2% of the total amount needed over the next ten years, with about $ 20 billion required for the first three years alone.

“Funding will require a broad coalition of donors, diverse financing instruments, private sector resources, and significant improvements in the delivery of reconstruction materials to Gaza in the post-conflict period”, the joint report states.

More than half the total estimated cost of rebuilding, or $29.9bn, is needed for damaged buildings and other key infrastructure, while funds to replenish Gaza’s destroyed residential housing stock form the bulk of that figure – $15.2bn.

Housing suffered the most during Israel’s 15-month-long attack on the territory, with the report writers estimating that it accounted for 53 percent of the total destruction wrought by Israeli forces in Gaza, amounting to more than 292, 000 homes destroyed or damaged.

Another $19.1bn is required to make up for social and economic losses resulting from severe damage to Gaza’s health, education, commerce and industry sectors, the report estimates.

The researchers also state that 95 percent of Gaza’s hospitals are now non-functional, while the local economy has contracted by 83 percent.

The IRDNA is a follow-up to the Interim Damage Assessment (IDA) published by the UN, EU and World Bank in April 2024, which estimated about $18.5bn in damages after just four months of Israel’s war.

As part of reconstruction efforts, millions of tonnes of rubble and unexploded ordnance will be recovered.

An uncertain future

The Israeli military has been accused of repeatedly violating the truce since it became effective on January 19 in the midst of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, according to the report’s findings.

If Hamas doesn’t continue to hold all of its captives there, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also failed to rule out a return to war in the coastal city.

Given the uncertainty surrounding Gaza’s future, especially how it will be governed, the report’s authors cautioned that conditions are still in place for large-scale recovery and reconstruction work to begin.

“The speed, scale, and scope of recovery will be shaped by these conditions”, the report states.

Trump has stated that he will “take over” and “own” Gaza, which includes removing the population from the Strip and creating what he has called the “Riviera of the Middle East” since returning to the White House in late January.

Trump has stated that he will permanently relocate 2 million Palestinians as part of this strategy. He has pressed on both Jordan and Egypt to annex Gazans under duress.

Netanyahu has backed Trump’s proposal a lot, and his government announced on Monday that it had established a special directorate to oversee Palestinians’ “voluntary departure” from the coastal enclave.

An alternative Arab-led reconstruction plan that would keep Gaza’s population firmly established is being spearheaded by Egypt.

On Monday, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said Cairo is “actively developing a comprehensive, multi-phase plan for Gaza’s early recovery and reconstruction”.

Crucially, Cairo says the plan would not require Gaza’s population to be displaced. Instead, “secure areas” would be established where Palestinians can live, while dozens of Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate the Strip’s war-torn infrastructure.

According to two unidentified Egyptian security sources with knowledge of the situation, up to $20 billion could be given to reconstruction efforts by Arab and Gulf states, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Before a potential finalization of the proposal, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will travel to Riyadh on Thursday to discuss the plan ahead of an Arab summit scheduled for March 4 in Cairo, according to Reuters.

Gideon Saar, the country’s foreign minister, stated that Israel was awaiting an outcome regarding Egypt’s plan.

In response to President Donald Trump’s administration’s pressure, another top federal prosecutor resigned from the Department of Justice.

Denise Cheung, who is currently in charge of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s criminal division, reportedly quit her position on Tuesday.

In her resignation letter, obtained by several US news agencies, she highlighted her long career in civil service.

“I have been proud to serve at the U. S. Department of Justice and this office for over 24 years”,&nbsp, Cheung&nbsp, wrote.

“I took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, and I have executed this duty faithfully”.

She explained that after she objected to launching a criminal investigation she felt was unworthy, she was ordered to resign.

The requested investigation involved a contract that was awarded through the administration of Democrat Joe Biden, Trump’s former adversary in the election.

Cheung claimed that she had been asked to launch a grand jury investigation into the contract’s legality. But she indicated that, after research, she found no evidence to justify such a probe.

Then, in order to prevent funds from being distributed under the contract, she was asked to request an asset freeze.

Therefore, Cheung recommended a 30-day administrative freeze on some assets in a letter to the bank requesting it.

However, Trump administration officials pressured her into submitting a second letter, stating that the request was being pursued by a criminal organization.

Cheung identified Ed Martin, the interim head of the US Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC, as one of the officials giving her orders. He received the letter that she wrote.

You stated that you believed there was enough evidence, she wrote, “when I explained that the quantity of evidence did not support that action.”

According to the evidence I have reviewed, “I still don’t think there is sufficient proof to issue the letter you described,” including sufficient evidence to inform the bank that the specific accounts identified have probable cause for seizure.

Trump made the announcement on Monday that Martin had been chosen to become a permanent US attorney.

A far-right activist, Martin had helped raise money for rioters involved in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, which was led by Trump supporters.

He also played a role in organising a “Stop the Steal” rally, which spread the false claim that Trump’s defeat in 2020 was due to voter fraud.

Cheung claimed that her actions were necessary to uphold the US attorney’s office’s standards. “All that we do is rooted in following the facts and the law and complying with our moral, ethical and legal obligations”, she wrote.

The Justice Department’s latest resignation on Tuesday came as prosecutors filed complaints about their actions, which they said were unethical under Trump.

At least seven Justice Department attorneys resigned from their positions last week after the Trump administration demanded that they drop the charges of corruption against New York City mayor Eric Adams.

Trump and Adams had recently had a rapprochement, with the mayor agreeing to participate in the president’s immigration initiatives.

Some Justice Department attorneys claimed that Adams’ decision to drop the charges was motivated more by political than by the evidence.

“Any assistant U. S. attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way”, the lead prosecutor, Hagan Scotten, said in his resignation letter.

If the President is unable to provide him with legal counsel, I anticipate that you will eventually locate someone who will be either enough of a fool or enough coward to file your motion. But I never would have been it.

Michelle King, the Social Security Administration’s acting acting commissioner, resigned over the weekend in response to DOGE’s attempts to access sensitive personal information.

On Tuesday, in a news conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump briefly addressed King’s departure, implying she had not willingly resigned.

Following the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, thousands of Lebanese civilians are returning to their homes in accordance with a ceasefire agreement. Lebanon is pressing the UN to put an end to what it calls the Israeli occupation as the deadline for a full withdrawal approaches.

Israel’s defence minister says some troops will remain in five positions.