A report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) last year revealed that the Gaza Strip would require at least 80 years to build destroyed housing units.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, has met with Arab foreign ministers and top U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Doha to discuss Egypt’s proposed reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip.
In a statement on Wednesday, Qatar’s foreign ministry said the Arab ministers presented the plan to Witkoff, which was approved during last week’s Arab Summit in Cairo.
The parties at the meeting have also agreed “to continue consultations and coordination” over the proposal, the statement added.
“The Arab ministers reiterated their commitment to maintaining dialogue to reinforce the ceasefire and to work jointly to establish security, stability, and peace in the region, through intensified diplomatic efforts and coordination,” the statement said.
Held in Cairo on March 4, the high-level summit saw Arab leaders adopt Egypt’s $53bn (about QAR 193bn) plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. The framework would take place over three phases, which would require up to five years to implement.
The leaders at the summit had also rejected the forced displacement plan of Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, as put forth by U.S President Donald Trump last month.
Since taking office in January, Trump has also voiced controversial plans to take over the Gaza Strip and build a “Middle East Riviera” on the Palestinian territory.
Trump appeared to backtrack on his earlier remarks on Wednesday, stating, “Nobody is expelling any Palestinians” from the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem, said Trump’s remarks are only welcome if they “indicate a retreat from any idea of displacing the Gaza Strip’s people”.
“We call for this stance to be completed by obligating the criminal occupation to implement all ceasefire agreements,” Qassem said. “We call on the U.S. President not to align with the vision of the extremist Zionist right,” he added.
Scale of damage in the Gaza Strip
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has dropped an estimated 75,000 tonnes of explosives on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 61,709 Palestinians – with thousands still trapped under the rubble.
Israel’s brutal bombardment has left more than 42 million tonnes of debris in the blockaded territory while preventing the entry of any form of assistance to help clear out the destruction.
A report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) last year revealed that the Gaza Strip would require 80 years to reconstruct fully destroyed housing units.
“Even with an optimistic scenario in which a five-fold increase of construction materials are allowed into Gaza, it would take until 2040 to reconstruct the destroyed housing units,” the UNDP said in May last year.
