Oxfam report : Gaza reconstruction needs $71 . 4 billion

What Happened

Oxfam, together with the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) and the Palestine Trade Centre (PalTrade), released a report titled 'Building Gaza Anew' on 2 November 2026, estimating that Gaza's reconstruction will require $71.4 billion over the next decade. This figure, based on the UN-EU-World Bank Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment of April 2026, is seven times the combined cost of all previous reconstructions after the 2008–2009, 2014, and 2021 wars, which Oxfam put at around $10 billion at today’s exchange rate. The report cited $57.9 billion in total damage and economic losses, and set out a five-year framework centered on Palestinian ownership, linking Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Amitabh Behar, Oxfam’s international executive director, said, 'Gaza has never been allowed to finish rebuilding,' while Mohammad Skaik of PalTrade and Misyef Jamil of MAS stressed that reconstruction must be political and Palestinian-led, rejecting externally imposed plans. The report accused Israel of genocide, domicide, sociocide, reprocide, scholasticide, and spatiocide, and framed Israel as the sole obstacle to peace, calling for reparations and an end to Israeli fiscal measures against the Palestinian Authority.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The report highlights the unprecedented scale of destruction in Gaza—seven times all previous reconstruction costs—and links recovery to a political struggle over Palestinian self-determination. By insisting on a unified Palestinian territory and accusing Israel of systematic crimes, the report challenges any post-war framework that might sideline Palestinian governance or treat Gaza as a separate entity. The $71.4 billion price tag places immense pressure on international donors and ceasefire mediators, as it inextricably ties humanitarian funding to contested political conditions, including demands for Israeli reparations and changes to fiscal policies. The framing deepens the legal and diplomatic battles over responsibility for the war’s devastation.

Watch For

Monitor responses from Israeli officials and key donor nations, particularly the U.S., EU, and Gulf states, regarding the report's demands. Look for any conditioning of reconstruction aid on Palestinian ownership or on Israeli concessions, as well as any Israeli reactions on punitive fiscal measures against the PA. The report may influence the ongoing ceasefire negotiations and the diplomatic discourse at the UN and international forums. Watch for updates from the World Bank and UN on the RDNA figures and any feasibility studies or pledges tied to a Palestinian-led reconstruction plan.