Skip to main content
On Air Now

How much will it cost to rebuild Gaza?

Thousands of Palestinians returning home to find their homes are rubble

Share

Returning-to-Khan-Yunis
Palestinians return to Khan Yunis to find the city in rubble. Picture: Getty

By William Mata

Rebuilding Gaza is a task considered worse than starting from scratch but thousands of Palestinians are embarking on the monumental project after a ceasefire.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Israel and Hamas have struck an uneasy truce that is already being tested with the controversy around the return of hostage bodies.

Donald Trump has already said that the war may continue unless the Palestine militant group brings back the bodies.

But aided by the United Nations, thousands of Gazans are now returning to try and rebuild their lives, even in the knowledge that their former homes are now in rubble

This is how the clear-up operation is progressing.

Read also: 'Disarm or be disarmed': Trump issues warning to Hamas as terror group returns more hostage bodies to Israel

Read also: 'At least six' dead after Israeli troops open fire on 'suspects' in Gaza as IDF claims ceasefire was breached

Palestinian woman, whose home was completely destroyed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip
Palestinians have been making do with makeshift facilities as the clean-up continues. Picture: Alamy

How much will the rebuilding project be?

Estimates from the United Nations have the cost of the rebuild as between $50-$70 billion (£37-£52 billion).

UN representative in Gaza Jaco Cilliers said: “There is a big process underway to look at the total damage. That figure in February 2025 came to about $53 billion, this figure is now being updated as we are working on a number of initiatives to look at the physical damage assessment and we think the figure will significantly increase.”

The UN has said that 84 per cent of the strip has been destroyed, but in some areas, such as Gaza City, the amount of destruction has been up to 92 per cent.

An estimated 60 million tonnes of rubble, equivalent to 13 pyramids of Giza, is now being moved, but the operation is being complicated by the possibility of human remains and unexploded bombs.

Only once the sites are cleared can water, sewage and electricity be restored, with many of these being cut off back in the spring.

Wastewater treatment is also a priority with Israeli forces setting a plant outside Gaza City on fire, shortly before the ceasefire agreement went through.

Dr Cilliers added: “There are construction damages, there are other damages, unexploded bombs and then the process of rebuilding will require a huge amount of debris removal.

“We are also clearing debris from hospitals and various services.”

Gaza’s power plants have also been hit, while the enclave has lost nearly all of its natural agriculture and 91 per cent of its schools.

Since the conflict began, the UN estimates that 282,904 homes across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

Full Fact has reported that claims shared on social media that the UK has pledged £40 billion for Gaza reconstruction are not correct.

The UK’s public sector net debt is £2.9 trillion, as several of the posts claimed. But the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also confirmed the £40 billion figure is incorrect.