Gaza reconstruction cost estimated at $20B if war stops now: UN agency

Gaza will need a new "Marshall Plan" to recover from the Israeli attacks, a UN trade body official said, adding that the damage from the war so far amounted to around $20 billion.

Speaking on the sidelines of a UN meeting in Geneva, Richard Kozul-Wright, a director at trade body UNCTAD, said on Thursday the damage was already four times that endured in Gaza during the seven-week war in 2014.

"We are talking about around $20 billion if it stops now," he said.

Kozul-Wright said the estimate was based on satellite images and other information and that a more precise estimate would require researchers to enter Gaza.

The reconstruction will require a new "Marshall Plan", he said, referring to the US plan for Europe's economic recovery after World War Two.

UNCTAD already said in a report last month that it could take until the closing years of the century for Gaza's economy to regain its pre-conflict size if hostilities in the Palestinian enclave were to cease immediately.

Persistent devastation

The recent UNCTAD report described how the past decade caused significant internal displacement and widespread destruction of infrastructure, residential buildings, agricultural land, and other vital assets.

It added that the military attacks in 2021, 2022, May 2023, and October 2023 exacerbated the existing damage from previous conflicts, leaving much of Gaza in disrepair. The densely populated area faced chronic conflict conditions, limited access to clean water, electricity shortages for half the day, and an inadequate sewage system.

The report added that with nearly half the workforce unemployed and two-thirds of the population living in poverty, Gaza's economic indicators reflected a concerning trend of de-development.

Prior to the latest Israeli military offensive in October 2023, the consequences of the ongoing blockade were evident, with the damage from past wars remaining unrepaired.