Gaza's US$71.4 billion reconstruction effort will fail unless Palestinians lead the process, according to a new report by Oxfam and two Palestinian organisations, which argues previous rebuilding efforts were repeatedly undermined by conflict, restrictions and funding shortfalls.
The report, Building Gaza Anew, says rebuilding the territory will cost more than seven times the combined cost of reconstruction following the major conflicts in 2008–09, 2014 and 2021. It argues that past recovery efforts were never completed before renewed fighting destroyed much of the progress made.
The findings draw on the April 2026 Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment by the United Nations, European Union and World Bank, which estimated Gaza has suffered US$57.9 billion in damage and economic losses and will require US$71.4 billion for recovery and reconstruction over the next decade.
Oxfam, the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) and the Palestine Trade Centre (PalTrade) said reconstruction should be treated as "a matter of rights and reparations, not charity", with Palestinians directing decisions on governance, priorities and implementation.
The report was developed following consultations across Gaza and sets out recommendations for the U.S.-chaired Board of Peace and international donors. It warns that reconstruction plans imposed externally are unlikely to succeed, regardless of the level of financial support.
Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar said: "Gaza has never been allowed to finish rebuilding. A decade after Israel's 2014 offensive on Gaza, families were still waiting for homes that never came, and then the bombs returned.
"This is not fate. It is Israel's illegal occupation and blockade, and the impunity producing the same result, war after war. Every government that funds the rubble but never the reckoning is complicit in it."
The report comes as international discussions continue over Gaza's future governance and reconstruction, with donors and policymakers debating how rebuilding should be managed alongside longer-term security and political arrangements. Recent proposals have highlighted the challenges of securing funding, establishing governance structures and ensuring reconstruction can proceed without renewed conflict.
Oxfam maintains that lasting recovery will depend not only on financial commitments but also on ensuring Palestinians have ownership of the reconstruction process and are able to rebuild institutions, communities and livelihoods alongside physical infrastructure.
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