UN, EU, World Bank: Gaza Needs $71.4B; Development Set Back 77 Years

Gaza will need approximately $71.4 billion over the next decade to recover from the war, with $26.3 billion required in just the first 18 months to restore essential services and rebuild basic infrastructure, according to a joint assessment released Monday by the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank.

The numbers behind the rebuild

The final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, or RDNA, estimates physical damage at $35.2 billion and further economic and social losses at $22.7 billion, UN News reported. More than 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged across the enclave. More than 50 percent of Gaza's hospitals are non-functional, and nearly all schools have been destroyed.

About 1.9 million Gazans — more than 60 percent of the population — have lost their homes and are displaced, the assessment says. The report was produced jointly under the auspices of the three institutions, not by any one of them alone.

'Human development set back 77 years'

UN News framed the report's most striking finding in human terms: human development in the enclave has been set back by 77 years since the war that began after the Hamas-led October 2023 attacks on southern Israel. The figure reflects losses across health, education, employment and infrastructure.

The RDNA sets out a series of preconditions for recovery: a sustained ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access, restored essential services, freedom of movement for people and materials, effective governance, financial transparency, debris clearance, and resolution of land and property rights. Without those, the assessment warns, reconstruction cannot begin at scale.

A needs assessment, not a pledge

The $71.4 billion figure is a needs assessment rather than a pledged funding package. Bloomberg and CP24 reported that donor governments have yet to commit amounts anywhere near the total, even as the truce between Israel and Hamas has largely held. The report comes amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to stabilize the ceasefire and restore basic services to Gaza's remaining residents.