Mohammed Mustafa, the President of the Palestinian Investment Fund, stated today that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, particularly in terms of building residential units, will require no less than $15 billion. This significant cost is due to the need for extensive land reclamation in Gaza following Israel’s brutal aggression on the region.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mustafa mentioned that Palestinian leadership will focus on short-term humanitarian aid, including food and water. However, the ultimate focus will shift towards the reconstruction of Gaza.
During the Israeli war on Gaza, the occupation deliberately targeted infrastructure and heavily damaged buildings. This conflict resulted in the displacement of the majority of Gaza’s population, approximately 2.3 million people, from their homes. Moreover, the siege imposed on Gaza severely restricted access to food, fuel, and medical supplies.
Mustafa warned, “If the war in Gaza continues, hunger is likely to claim more lives than those killed in the war.” He emphasized that the initial steps before Gaza’s reconstruction should involve providing food, medicine, water, and electricity.
The President of the Palestinian Investment Fund also predicted that unemployment rates would rise significantly in the near future after the war. Before the conflict, the unemployment rate was already around 50%, reaching 60% among young graduates and 80% among women.
With nearly two million people displaced from their homes, a major humanitarian crisis looms over them due to the Israeli blockade, which has intensified since the beginning of the ongoing war last October. The Israeli army has closed border crossings with Gaza, cut off electricity, and allowed only limited amounts of food and aid to enter through the Rafah border crossing in the south.
