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Rebuilding Gaza after the latest conflict will cost approximately $71.4 billion — seven times the combined cost of all previous reconstruction efforts — according to a new report from Oxfam and two Palestinian research institutions. The report, titled "Building Gaza Anew," was co-authored by Oxfam, the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), and the Palestine Trade Centre (PalTrade), and calls for a five-year recovery framework centered on Palestinian ownership.

The report warns that rebuilding efforts will fail without Palestinian leadership and insists that reconstruction must be treated as a matter of rights and reparations rather than charity.

Coverage Comparison

Al Jazeera reported the headline figure of $71.4 billion and highlighted the scale of destruction across housing, education, and healthcare, as well as the broader impact on Gaza's cultural and social fabric. The outlet's coverage emphasized that reconstruction is both a humanitarian and political task, requiring direct Palestinian involvement.

The Jerusalem Post also carried the $71.4 billion figure and added that Gaza has suffered $57.9 billion in total damage and economic losses. The Israeli newspaper's report emphasized the need for Palestinian leadership in rebuilding and used strong language, accusing Israel of genocide and describing the destruction with terms including "domicide," "sociocide," and "spatiocide."

Both outlets frame the devastation as a consequence of the ongoing conflict, though the Jerusalem Post is more direct in attributing the destruction to Israeli actions.

Key Claims

According to the Oxfam report, based on the UN-EU-World Bank Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment released in April 2026, Gaza has suffered $57.9 billion in total damage and economic losses. The full recovery and reconstruction effort is expected to cost $71.4 billion over an extended period.

The report details the physical toll of the conflict: 66 million tonnes of rubble now litter the territory, and a significant number of housing units have been destroyed or damaged. The damage extends beyond physical infrastructure to what the authors describe as "Gaza's knowledge, care systems, environment, and the community bonds, mosques, churches, libraries, and cultural institutions where social life once lived."

Oxfam's international executive director, Amitabh Behar, was quoted as saying: "Gaza has never been allowed to finish rebuilding. A decade after Israel's 2014 offensive on Gaza, families are still waiting for homes that never came; and then the bombs returned."

The report argues that a five-year recovery and rebuilding framework is needed, centered on what it calls "Palestinian ownership at every stage." It calls for a "single national vision linking Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem" and rejects any approach that treats Gaza as a separate entity.

The human cost is also outlined: more than two years of conflict have resulted in significant casualtieshare, with the report noting widespread injury and displacement across the territory.

Perspectives

Oxfam and Palestinian Institutions: The report's authors argue that reconstruction cannot succeed without Palestinian leadership and that the effort must be grounded in rights and reparations. They reject treating Gaza as a separate entity from the West Bank and east Jerusalem, insisting on a unified national approach.

Critics of Israel (as reflected in reporting): The Jerusalem Post's coverage characterizes Israel's actions in Gaza as genocidal, and describes the destruction using terms such as "domicide," "sociocide," and "scholasticide." This perspective holds Israel responsible for the scale of devastation and suggests that international reconstruction efforts must contend with Israel's role as an obstacle to rebuilding.