A new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) paints a grim picture of the devastation in the Gaza Strip and estimates it will take decades and more than US$ 70 billion—at a minimum—to rebuild what the war has destroyed.
The report, published on 25 November 2025, describes Gaza today as a “human-made abyss,” stressing that Israel’s military operations have “significantly undermined every pillar of survival” for the territory’s 2.3 million inhabitants.
According to the assessment, Gaza’s economy suffered a catastrophic collapse between 2023 and 2024, shrinking by 87 percent and reducing GDP per capita to roughly US$ 161—one of the lowest in the world.
The UNCTAD report argues that the destruction is not limited to buildings alone. Entire systems that support everyday life — including housing, infrastructure, public services, water, power, health care, transport and economic livelihoods — have been shattered. As a result, decades of social and developmental progress in the region have effectively been erased.
Reconstruction of Gaza, the report warns, will be a massive, multilayered effort if it is to succeed. The cost will be substantial, but more fundamentally, it will require sustained international aid, robust restoration of essential services and significant reforms in governance and institutional capacity.
Even under optimistic assumptions—such as double-digit growth rates aided by generous foreign investments and support—the UNCTAD warns that it may still take several decades for Gaza to return to its pre-war living standards and socio-economic stability.
The human cost is staggering: thousands of Palestinians reportedly remain buried under rubble; entire communities have lost homes, access to clean water, healthcare, education and employment. International aid agencies already working on the ground face an enormous challenge just to meet basic humanitarian needs.
The UNCTAD report urges world powers and donor countries to launch a coordinated comprehensive recovery plan. That plan must include not only rebuilding roads, buildings and utilities—but also restoring normalcy in governance, public services and social welfare. Without that, the warnings are dire: Gaza may be left uninhabitable for a generation.
