Israel’s Gaza War Costs $50 Billion

A new assessment by the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank shows that reconstruction efforts in Gaza following 15 months of devastating Israeli war will require more than $50 billion.

The figures come as Arab countries continue to struggle to find a viable recovery plan as an alternative to the mass displacement of 2 million Palestinian residents proposed by US President Donald Trump.

The recently released Interim Damage and Needs Assessment for Gaza and the West Bank (IRDNA) calculated that Israel’s war on Gaza between October 8, 2023 and October 8, 2024 caused $49 billion in damage.

The researchers concluded that $53.2 billion is now needed to recover and rebuild the Palestinian territory over the next 10 years, with about $20 billion of the total needed in the first three years alone.

The joint report said: “Financing will require a broad coalition of donors, diverse financial instruments, private sector resources and significant improvements in the delivery of reconstruction supplies to Gaza in the post-war period.”

More than half of the total estimated reconstruction cost, or $29.9 billion, is needed for damaged buildings and other key infrastructure.

Residential buildings in Gaza suffered the most damage during Israel’s 15-month war on the Strip; the report’s authors estimated that the destruction of residential buildings accounted for 53 percent of the total destruction caused by Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

The report estimates that an additional $19.1 billion is needed to compensate for the social and economic losses caused by the severe damage to Gaza's health, education, trade and industry sectors.

The researchers also state that 95 percent of Gaza's hospitals are now non-functional, while the local economy has shrunk by 83 percent.