Rebuilding Gaza: A Call for Sustainable and Locally Driven Reconstruction

Strategic Insights -

As the guns finally fall silent in Gaza, the urgency to rebuild will be overwhelming. Hospitals, schools, and families need to be restored to a state of normalcy. However, history has shown that a hasty reconstruction effort can be as devastating as the conflict itself. The lessons from Lebanon, Bosnia, and Afghanistan demonstrate the importance of long-term vision, local ownership, and funding stability. In Gaza, approximately 70% of buildings had been damaged or destroyed by mid-2025, with nearly nine out of ten commercial and industrial sites rendered unusable. The economy has been reduced to rubble, with famine thresholds crossed and acute child malnutrition surging past critical levels.

Key Takeaways:

  • The first condition for reconstruction in Gaza is security, with a durable truce necessary to prevent hospitals and schools from being bombed or shuttered again.
  • Funding stability is crucial, with multi-year commitments from international donors necessary to prevent donor fatigue and ensure that aid reaches the people it is meant for.
  • Local ownership is essential, with planning and implementation involving Palestinian engineers, utilities, community leaders, and small businesses to ensure that the rebuilt infrastructure is sustained by local hands.
  • Economic recovery must accompany physical reconstruction, with investment in livelihoods, such as cash-for-work schemes, grants for small workshops, and seed funding for agriculture and agro-processing.
  • Justice must be part of the reconstruction effort, with investigations into disproportionate strikes, starvation tactics, and obstruction of aid being conducted to establish trust among the population.
  • Transparency, community oversight, and international monitoring will be essential to prevent aid from vanishing into bureaucratic or corrupt channels.
  • The rebuilding of schools and community centers must be accompanied by psychosocial support, opportunities for youth, and cultural spaces to heal the deep wounds left behind by conflict.

Statistics:

  • Approximately 70% of Gaza's buildings have been damaged or destroyed by mid-2025. (Source: context)
  • Nearly nine out of ten commercial and industrial sites are unusable in Gaza. (Source: context)
  • Famine thresholds have been crossed across most of the territory. (Source: context)
  • Acute child malnutrition has surged past critical levels in Gaza City. (Source: context)
  • Around 90% of Gaza's industrial and commercial base has been destroyed. (Source: context)

Sources:

  • The article published in Hindustan Times
  • _CONTEXT_, August 23, 2023
  • UNRWA, January 2025