The latest joint estimate from the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank is that at least $70 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza after two years of the Israeli genocidal war, and it could take decades for the Palestinian enclave to fully recover, according to the U.N. development agency.
A fragile cease-fire deal, formalized on Monday, ended Israeli bombardments that killed more than 67,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and reduced huge swathes of Gaza to a wasteland.
More than 90% of the enclave's population of more than 2 million people is displaced. The medical system is shattered. Homes and buildings are flattened. Croplands are razed. Hunger is pervasive.
The amount of rubble in Gaza would stack 12 meters (about 40 feet) high in all of New York's Central Park or be enough to build 13 giant pyramids in Giza in Egypt, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
That latest rebuilding cost was tallied in September, and is up from $53 billion that the U.N., the World Bank and the EU estimated in February.
"The estimated damage and rubble, throughout the whole of Gaza, is in the region of 55 million tons," said Jaco Cillers, special representative of the UNDP administrator for a program to help Palestinians.
"Another way to put it, apart from the example from Central Park that I mentioned, is (that it's) also equal to 13 pyramids in Giza," Cillers told a U.N. press briefing in Geneva by video.
"That is the amount and size of the challenge."
He said $20 billion would be needed in the next three years, and the rest would be needed over a longer period – possibly decades.
A large part of the destruction is in Gaza City. About 83% of all building structures there have been damaged, according to the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT).
The UNDP said it had already cleared some 81,000 tons of rubble from the Gaza Strip and was continuing to do so.
Cillers pointed to "good indications" from potential donors such as those in the Arab world, Europe and the United States, without specifying.
Separately, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he will seek Gulf, U.S. and European support for the reconstruction of Gaza under the new cease-fire deal, and he believed project financing will be provided swiftly.
Speaking to reporters on a return flight from Sharm el-Sheikh, where he and other leaders signed the deal on Monday, Erdoğan said that his government was focused on reconstruction and providing humanitarian support, including the possibility of sending container homes to Gaza.
He said Israel's "poor" track record of abiding by cease-fires means the U.S. and others must vigilantly enforce it.
Ankara was involved in peace efforts and emerged as a key player in the cease-fire agreement that saw Hamas free the last living Israeli hostages and Israel send home Palestinian detainees.
"I believe the significant financial support will be swiftly provided" for rebuilding projects developed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League, Erdoğan said.
"We are seeking support from Gulf countries, the U.S. and European nations," he added. "The initial impressions are promising."
Türkiye has been one of the harshest critics of Israel's assault on Gaza, calling it a genocide.
