Gaza: $70 billion needed to rebuild shattered enclave, says UN

Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.

At just 41 kilometres long (25.4 miles) and two to five kilometres wide (1.2 to 3.1 miles), few places in Gaza have been left unscathed by constant Israeli bombardment before the latest temporary ceasefire began last Friday.

According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP)’s Jaco Cilliers, Special Representative of the Administrator for the programme of assistance to the Palestinian People destruction across the enclave “is now in the region of 84 per cent. In certain parts of Gaza, like in Gaza City, it's even up to 92 per cent.”

Speaking from Jerusalem, Mr. Cilliers highlighted the findings of the latest Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) on Gaza by the UN, the European Union and the World Bank, which estimated the damage at $70 billion. To kickstart the massive operation, some $20 billion will be required in the next three years alone, he told journalists in Geneva.

The UN development agency is present in Gaza alongside humanitarian partners to provide immediate support to the enclave’s 2.1 million people.

This includes providing clean water, emergency employment, medical supplies, solid waste removal and making homes and public spaces safe by clearing rubble potentially hiding unexploded ordnance or the many thousands of missing Palestinians.

“We've already removed about 81,000 tonnes. That is about…3,100 truckloads,” Mr. Cilliers explained. “The majority of the debris removal is at the moment to provide access to humanitarian actors so that they can provide the much-needed aid and support to the people in Gaza. But we also help with hospitals and other social services that need to be cleared of debris.”

The UNDP official pointed to “very good indications” from potential donors in support of reconstruction from Arab States, but also from European nations and the United States “which has also indicated that they are going to be coming in supporting some of the early recovery efforts”.

Important as reconstruction is for Gaza’s long-term future, UN humanitarians once again clamoured for the Israeli authorities to open all access points into Gaza, after the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages were freed on Monday and Palestinian prisoners were released from Israel.

The development followed the signing of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel signed on Monday evening in Sharm El-Sheikh by US President Donald Trump, and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkïye.

Earlier on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the release of all living hostages from Gaza, two years since they were among some 250 taken during Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023.

On Tuesday, the focus shifted to the transfer from Gaza of all deceased hostages, an extremely difficult process overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It remains unclear how many deceased hostages will be transferred by Hamas.

“When it comes to the living hostages or Palestinian detainees - and believe me that's a big issue for us - we actually don't know, we know that we have to be ready,” said ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon. “We know that it's happening today, it's starting today.”

In the meantime, needs in Gaza remain enormous and “fluid”, aid teams report, with more than 300,000 Palestinians heading north to Gaza City since Friday, as the ceasefire agreement appeared to kick in.

“The enthusiasm that came from the international community, from people on the ground that this was the beginning of the end of all the suffering and things would change rapidly, is just not being reflected on the ground, day in and day out. We are not getting enough aid in,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Ricardo Pires.

The Israeli authorities have agreed to allow 190,000 tonnes of relief supplies into Gaza and UN agencies and their partners are scaling up operations rapidly, but a far greater amount of aid is needed urgently, humanitarian agencies including the UN aid office, OCHA, have said repeatedly.

“Of course, we are advocating with everyone and we were there in Sharm El- Sheikh yesterday as well, with 22 heads of state of government, who we are asking to help us push all buttons you can to get this up and running as soon as possible,” said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, in response to questions from journalists in Geneva. “Of course we're doing that.”

Aid teams continue to insist that there needs to be a move away from handing out lifesaving supplies from remote areas including non-UN aid hubs that are difficult to reach and where hundreds of Palestinians have been shot or injured.

“Most of the actors - ICRC included - were not able to organize sufficient distribution of aid inside Gaza,” said Mr. Cardon. “And what we’ve seen instead, it’s people coming back from distribution sites being wounded, if not killed, in many instances…It's about aid coming to the people and not any more people going to the aid.”

ends

STORY: Gaza update – UNDP, UNICEF, OCHA, ICRC

TRT: 3’35”

SOURCE: UNTV CH

RESTRICTIONS: NONE

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9

DATELINE: 14 OCTOBER 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Speakers:

• UNDP Jaco Cilliers, Special Representative of the Administrator for the programme of assistance to the Palestinian People (From Jerusalem)
• UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires  
• OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke
• ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon

SHOTLIST

1. Exterior wide shot: Palais des Nations, flag alley.
2. Wide, podium speakers, UN Geneva Press room, remote speaker on TV screens.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jaco Cilliers, UNDP: “Just to give you an estimate of the challenges that the reconstruction efforts will cost, it will [the] IRDNA [Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment] which was jointly done, by the UN, the European Union and the World Bank estimate that about $70 billion will be required for the reconstruction of Gaza. That means that also in the next three years about $20 billion will be required.”
4. Wide, journalists.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jaco Cilliers, UNDP: “On the destruction, those figures have actually gone up, it is now in the region of 84 per cent. In certain parts of Gaza, like in Gaza City, it's even up to 92 per cent of the destruction.”
6. Medium, journalists.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jaco Cilliers, UNDP: “We've already removed about 81,000 tonnes. That is about…3,100 truckloads. The majority of the debris removal is at the moment to provide access to humanitarian actors so that they can provide the much-needed aid and support to the people in Gaza. But we also help with hospitals and other social services that need to be cleared of debris.”
8. Wide, Press room, journalists, control booths.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jaco Cilliers, UNDP: “There are very good indications from donors already, including what we are seeing throughout, you know, the Arab world, but also from European partners, the American; America has also indicated that they are going to be coming in supporting some of the early recovery efforts.”
10. Wide, podium speakers, remote speaker on screen.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires: “We hope it will hold and become everlasting peace for the region and Palestinians, of course. But the enthusiasm that came from the international community, from people on the ground that this was the beginning of the end of all the suffering and things would change rapidly, is just not being reflected on the ground, day in and day out. We are not getting enough aid in.”  
12. Medium-wide, podium speakers
13. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Cardon, ICRC: “When it comes to the living hostages or Palestinian detainees - and believe me that's a big issue for us - we actually don't know, we know that we have to be ready. We know that it's happening today, it's starting today. It's even more complex to have a detailed on that when it's human remains.”
14. Wide, podium speakers.
15. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jens Laerke, OCHA: “Of course, we are advocating with everyone and we were there in Sharm El Sheikh yesterday as well, with 22 heads of state of government, who we are asking to help us push all buttons you can to get this up and running as soon as possible. So, of course we are doing that. Of course we're doing that.”
16. Medium-wide, podium speakers, remote speaker on TV screen.
17. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Cardon, ICRC: “The first thing to be very clear about is that it's about aid coming to the people and not any more people going to the aid. Let me just clarify that over the last months we've all seen how complex it has been for humanitarian actors to do their work. And basically most of the actors - ICRC included - were not able to organize sufficient distribution of aid inside Gaza. And what we've seen instead, it's people coming back from distribution sites being wounded, if not killed, in many instances.”
18. Medium, journalist.