Rebuilding Gaza could take 10 to 15 years

31/1/2025 6:23

There is "almost nothing left" of

Gaza and rebuilding the war-ravaged enclave could take 10 to 15

years, U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve

Witkoff told Axios in an interview at the end of his trip to the

region on Thursday.



"People are moving north to get back to their homes and see

what happened and turn around and leave ... there is no water

and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred

there," Witkoff told the news website after visiting Gaza.



Witkoff, a real estate investor and Trump campaign donor

with business ties to Qatar and other Gulf states, was in the

region to oversee implementation of a ceasefire deal between

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.



His assessment comes days after Trump floated the idea

that some of Arab nations should get involved with and build

"housing at a different location where they (Gazans) can maybe

live in peace for a change."



Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza, territory they

want to form part of an independent state, has been anathema to

the Palestinian leadership for generations and repeatedly

rejected by neighboring Arab states since the Gaza war began in

October 2023.



Witkoff told Axios he had not discussed with Trump the

idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza.



A U.N. damage assessment released this month showed that

clearing over 50 million tonnes of rubble left in the aftermath

of Israel's bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2

billion.



The debris is believed to be contaminated with asbestos,

with some refugee camps struck during the war known to have been

built with the material. The rubble also likely holds human

remains. The Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates that

10,000 bodies are missing under the debris.



"There has been this perception we can get to a solid

plan for Gaza in five years. But it's impossible. This is a 10

to 15 year rebuilding plan," Witkoff told Axios .



"There is nothing left standing. Many unexploded

ordnances. It is not safe to walk there. It is very dangerous. I

wouldn't have known this without going there and inspecting," he

said.