UN and EU say Gaza reconstruction will require $71bn, $26.3bn needed in first 18 months
UN-EU RDNA finds Gaza reconstruction will cost $71bn over 10 years, with $26.3bn needed in the first 18 months to rebuild housing, health, education, economy.
Gaza reconstruction will require more than $71 billion over the next decade, the European Union and United Nations concluded in their final Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), released on Monday.
The report warns the enclave’s recovery is already facing a monumental task, with an immediate $26.3 billion required in the first 18 months to restore basic services and restart economic activity.
The assessment describes a scale of destruction that has severely reduced human development and left millions dependent on urgent humanitarian and reconstruction aid.
RDNA places financial needs at $71 billion
The joint RDNA sponsors estimated total damages and needs at roughly $71.2 billion across ten years, including about $35.2 billion in physical infrastructure damage and $22.7 billion in economic and social losses.
The assessment prioritises an immediate rebuilding package of $26.3 billion for the first 18 months to stabilise essential services, repair critical infrastructure and revive livelihoods.
Officials said these figures reflect conservative calculations of the massive material and institutional damage across the territory and the long lead times needed for large-scale reconstruction.
Human toll and casualties cited in the assessment
The RDNA accompanies stark casualty figures reported by Gaza authorities, which say the death toll in the conflict exceeds 72,500 people.
Since the fragile ceasefire took effect in October, Gaza’s health ministry recorded at least 777 deaths, including 32 in April, and the killing of journalist Mohammed Wishah on April 8 was highlighted in the report’s timeline.
The document also cites frequent alleged violations of the ceasefire; Gaza’s Government Media Office has recorded thousands of breaches, including killings, arrests and blockades that impeded relief and recovery.
Destruction of homes, hospitals and schools
The assessment finds that roughly 371,888 housing units were destroyed or damaged, leaving more than 60 percent of Gaza’s population without a home and driving 1.9 million people from their residences, often repeatedly.
More than half of the territory’s hospitals were reported nonfunctional, and nearly all schools faced destruction or damage, creating immediate and long-term deficits in health and education capacity.
The UN described the bombardment as having produced an estimated 61 million tonnes of rubble that has entombed entire neighbourhoods and complicated clearance and rebuilding efforts.
Economic collapse and lost development
Gaza’s economy has contracted by an estimated 84 percent, according to the RDNA, a collapse that has erased livelihoods across commerce and agriculture and pushed vast segments of the population into poverty.
The assessment concludes the conflict has set back human development in Gaza by the equivalent of 77 years, reflecting lost education, health deterioration and diminished economic prospects.
Recovery planners note that restoring economic activity will require targeted investment in markets, agriculture, cash-for-work programmes and the rehabilitation of utilities and transport links.
Immediate priorities and sectoral needs
The RDNA identifies housing, health, education, commerce and agriculture as the hardest-hit sectors and outlines sector-specific recovery actions to be implemented in the short term.
Short-term priorities include clearing rubble, restoring water and electricity networks, re-opening health facilities, rebuilding classrooms and providing immediate support to small businesses and farmers.
Donors are urged to fund debris removal, temporary shelter, medical supplies and school rehabilitation as a prerequisite for more durable reconstruction.
Governance conditions and political implications
Both the UN and EU emphasised that Gaza reconstruction should be Palestinian-led and should support a transition of governance to the Palestinian Authority, framing this as essential for accountability and sustainability.
That emphasis serves as a clear rebuke to alternative proposals floated by external figures, underlining international insistence on local ownership and established Palestinian institutions driving recovery decisions.
Planners caution that political arrangements, security conditions and restrictions on movement and imports will be decisive factors in whether the reconstruction plans can proceed at the pace and scale identified in the RDNA.
Reconstruction planners say funding pledges must be matched by operational access, transparency measures and sustained engagement from both regional and global partners.
Without coordinated donor commitments and predictable access, officials warn many of the RDNA’s projections for rebuilding and recovery will remain aspirational rather than achievable.