Gaza Rebuilding Will Cost At Least $70 Billion

After two years of fighting, Gaza’s built environment has been devastated — U.N. and other reports estimate roughly 84% destroyed and some 55–61 million tonnes of rubble, with U.N. agencies saying rebuilding will take years and cost at least US$70 billion. The U.N. has begun debris-clearing and damage assessments, and aid chief Tom Fletcher inspected destroyed wastewater infrastructure, calling the task a “massive, massive job.” Rebuilding faces acute technical and logistical obstacles: water, sewage and pump stations were widely destroyed and much damage extends below ground into tunnel networks, requiring reconstruction several metres beneath the surface while materials and access remain constrained. Aid is flowing through Israeli checkpoints with hundreds of trucks daily even as the main crossing to Egypt remains closed, and a fragile truce has coincided with exchanges of hostages and returns of remains. Reports cite tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths since October 2023, and residents returning to ruins are already improvising sanitation while planners say restoring power, sewage and basic services is the immediate priority before longer-term rebuilding.