The numbers are in — and they are devastating. More than $71 billion will be needed over the next decade to rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, according to a final joint assessment published Monday by the United Nations and the European Union, developed in coordination with the World Bank.
The Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) describes more than two years of war as having caused “unprecedented loss of life and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.” Schools, hospitals, and civic infrastructure have been reduced to rubble by Israel’s military offensive. The assessment estimates that $26.3 billion will be required in the first phase alone.
Meanwhile, conditions on the ground remain volatile. Palestinian resistance factions clashed this week with an armed militia group cooperating with Israel that crossed the Yellow Line toward Hamas-controlled areas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, before retreating under Israeli air cover. Since the ceasefire agreement took effect last October, Israeli violations have killed 777 people, according to Mada Masr’s weekly Gaza briefing.
Hundreds of students trapped in the besieged territory staged a protest near the journalists’ syndicate headquarters in Gaza City, demanding they be allowed to leave to continue their university studies abroad. The Rafah crossing, partially reopened three months ago for medical cases, remains closed to students — a bitter irony captured in their slogan: “A movement between the dream and the crossing.”
The Guardian’s editorial board argued Monday that the EU must move “beyond mere exhortation” toward Israel, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly brushed aside European concerns over Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. “A tougher approach from Brussels is overdue,” the paper wrote.
