The Palestinian government estimates that emergency housing for residents of the Gaza Strip will cost $6.5bn, according to a government official. This figure covers the immediate needs of providing mobile homes for those who lost their residences, repairing damaged but habitable homes, and restoring essential services such as water, electricity, sewage systems, and roads.
The official also said that a full-scale reconstruction of Gaza following the recent conflict is projected to cost substantially more, with estimates ranging from $50bn to $80bn.
Securing these funds will require an international conference focused on Gaza’s reconstruction, the official explained. However, he noted that the likelihood of receiving the necessary donations, even for the initial emergency housing phase, remains low without a complete and permanent ceasefire. Furthermore, substantial contributions towards the larger reconstruction effort are unlikely without a broader political solution. The official also stressed the urgent need for dialogue among Palestinians to address both the immediate requirements of housing and reconstruction, as well as the future governance of the Gaza Strip.
According to a report released Sunday by the local administration in Gaza, the recent conflict resulted in the complete destruction of 170,000 homes, severe damage to 80,000, and partial damage to a further 200,000.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on Monday that 70 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the start of the year, with 38 of those deaths occurring in Jenin. The WAFA news agency reported a ministry statement that identified the victims as including 10 children, one woman, and two elderly people.
The breakdown of fatalities by governorate, as provided by the ministry, is as follows: Jenin (38), Tubas (15), Nablus (6), Tulkarm (5), Hebron (3), Bethlehem (2), and Jerusalem (1). Violence in the West Bank has seen an escalation since the ceasefire agreement was reached in Gaza last month. An Israeli military campaign targeting areas that include Jenin and Tulkarm has resulted in approximately 30 Palestinian deaths over the last two weeks.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, on Monday condemned what he described as Israel’s “expansion of its comprehensive war against Palestinians in the West Bank” and cautioned about the “danger these plans pose to the future of the entire region,” according to WAFA.
Abu Rudeineh said that “these aggressive policies carried out by Israeli forces in the West Bank have led to the deaths of 29 citizens, hundreds of injuries and arrests, the demolition of entire residential blocks in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps, the displacement of thousands of citizens and extensive damage to infrastructure.”
He urged the US administration to intervene “before it is too late” to stop the “continuous Israeli aggression against our people and our land,” warning that it could cause “an uncontrollable explosion of violence with consequences for all.”
The presidential spokesperson stressed that “the Palestinian people will not accept any plans involving displacement or an alternative homeland,” and that “threatening our people will benefit no one and will only lead to widespread destruction, whether today or tomorrow.”
