Gaza Strip: Gaza will need USD 71.4 billion over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction after a war that caused widespread destruction, according to a joint assessment by the European Union and the United Nations.
The final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), prepared with the World Bank, said USD 26.3 billion would be required in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery.
The report estimated physical infrastructure damage at USD 35.2 billion, while economic and social losses were placed at USD 22.7 billion.
Scale of destruction
The assessment said the conflict had led to “unprecedented loss of life and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis”.
Housing, healthcare, education, commerce and agriculture were identified as the sectors most severely affected.
More than 371,888 homes have been destroyed or damaged, over half of hospitals are no longer functioning, and nearly all schools across Gaza have been hit.
Gaza’s economy has contracted by 84 percent, the report said.
Around 1.9 million people have been displaced, many of them several times, while more than 60 percent of residents have lost their homes
The report said “the scale and extent of deprivation” across livelihoods, food security, gender equality and social inclusion had pushed back human development in Gaza by 77 years.
Conditions for reconstruction
The EU and UN said that, given the “immense scale of need”, rebuilding efforts must proceed alongside humanitarian assistance and ensure a transition “from emergency relief toward reconstruction at scale”.
They said reconstruction should be Palestinian-led and support governance by the Palestinian Authority in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2803.
The report said progress would depend on a sustained ceasefire, adequate security, unrestricted humanitarian access, restoration of essential services and the movement of people, goods and reconstruction materials between Gaza and the West Bank.
It added that debris removal, unexploded ordnance clearance, transparent administration and protection of housing and land rights would also be essential.
Rising casualty toll
WAFA News Agency cited medical sources in Gaza as saying on Wednesday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli offensive had risen to 72,562, with 172,320 people injured since the war began in October 2023.
The sources said hospitals across the territory received two bodies over the past 24 hours, including one person who later died from earlier injuries, in addition to four newly wounded people.
They added that 786 people had been killed and 2,217 injured since the ceasefire began on October 11, 2025, while 761 bodies had been recovered from beneath rubble during the same period.
Medical teams said a number of victims remain trapped under debris and on roads, while ambulance and rescue crews have been unable to reach them because of conditions on the ground.
