The Council of Peace, led by US President Donald Trump, plans to announce on Wednesday a six-month plan to revive the Gaza Strip, comprising 66 projects worth $2.45 billion, according to a report published by Axios. The plan is due to be presented during a council meeting in an effort to map out the first months of reconstruction and governance in the Strip after the war.
Plan covers housing, services and security
The plan is the result of a year of joint work by dozens of experts in the 28-country Council of Peace and the Palestinian technocratic government. Spending will cover temporary housing, rubble removal, repairs to hospitals and road networks, economic revitalisation and the deployment of a multinational security force.
The plan aims to establish a governance system and a functioning economy amid the destruction, but its implementation requires full cooperation from Israel and Hamas. The report said Benjamin Netanyahu's government had given preliminary approval to some aspects of the plan, but was refusing to begin implementation before the election scheduled for 27 October, citing domestic political considerations.
Hamas, meanwhile, has given preliminary approval to disarmament, according to the report, but that commitment has not yet been tested. The report linked this to Israel's refusal to implement a 14-day ceasefire before the operation begins, placing security and political arrangements among the key conditions for moving to the implementation phase.
Cost of damage and the six project areas
The plan estimates the value of physical damage in the Gaza Strip at about $35.2 billion, while indicating that full recovery and reconstruction will require about $71.4 billion over the next decade. The 66 projects are divided into six areas: infrastructure, human development, economic acceleration, digital transformation, legal affairs, and peace and security.
The security component is allocated $885 million, including $275 million to establish a fortified site in Rafah capable of accommodating 5,000 members of the international stabilisation force. The allocation also includes $140 million to equip the multinational security force and $120 million to mobilise the Palestinian police, whose members Israel is preventing from leaving to receive training in Egypt, according to the report.
The security package also includes $20 million for a programme aimed at buying back weapons from armed groups. These projects form part of a broader vision combining the provision of security, the restoration of essential services, support for Palestinian institutions and the start of economic activity during the initial recovery phase.
Funding and implementation after the Israeli election
The Council of Peace hopes to begin implementing the plan after the Israeli election, while mobilising funding during Wednesday's meeting, which representatives of 35 countries are due to attend. Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, Nikolay Mladenov, Tony Blair, Ali Shaath and Israeli security forces commander General Jasper Jeffers will take part in the meeting.
The list of participants also includes the council's advisers Yaki Gabay, Liran Tunkman, Arieh Lightstone and Josh Greenbaum. Moving the plan from announcement to implementation depends on securing the required funding and reaching the necessary political and security arrangements among the parties concerned.
