Publication
Omar Shaban Ismail · Brookings · 2025
Written for Brookings as part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency partnership project on development and governance in the Middle East, this essay surveys Gaza's unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe — 50,810 killed, 1.9 million displaced, 88.5% of schools damaged — and argues that sustainable reconstruction requires resolving governance before buildings, with Palestinian technocrats leading planning and land access resolved first.
Written for Brookings as part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency partnership project on development and governance in the Middle East, this essay…
The current crisis in the Gaza Strip is not Gaza's first crisis. In fact, Gaza has experienced a series of devastating escalations, including major wars in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2022. All of these wars' impacts were disastrous for Gaza's population and significantly affected the territory's infrastructure, health system, economy, society, education, and public and private sectors. Yet today's crisis, beginning on October 7, 2023, and its consequences for Gazans are unprecedented.
The humanitarian crisis and immediate needs
After a year and a half of Israel's war on Gaza, the challenges facing Gazans are enormous and interconnected.
Health care, trauma, and disease
According to an April 8, 2025, report from UNOCHA, 50,810 Palestinians have been killed, including 8,304 women and 15,613 children; 115,688 Palestinians are injured; and thousands are reported missing or believed to be buried under the rubble. Almost all of Gaza's hospitals have been partially or completely destroyed, leaving civilians with little access to medical treatment. About 63% of hospitals are partially functional; between 11,000 and 13,000 patients need medical evacuation abroad.
A study conducted with 500 Palestinian children and caregivers in June 2024 found that 96% of children in Gaza feel their death is imminent, reflecting the extreme danger children experience.
Food insecurity
As of October 2024, about 96% of Gaza's 2.15 million people were facing acute food insecurity. Most of the population no longer has any source of income. Even if the war ends, food aid must continue to flow until Gazans can rebuild their normal lives.
Education
According to the Global Education Cluster, as of April 8, more than 658,000 students have no access to formal education, and 88.5% of all school buildings (499 out of 564) have sustained damage. More than 13,289 students and 626 educational staff have been killed during the war.
Housing and homelessness
The vast majority of Gaza's population has been forced from their homes, with 1.9 million displaced since October 7, 2023. The United Nations estimates that rebuilding Gaza could take anywhere from 16 years to more than 80 years, depending on the pace of reconstruction. UNOCHA estimated the war has created over 50 million tons of debris, which could take up to 20 years to clear.
Economic challenges
In April 2024, the director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at UNDP said that reconstructing Gaza could cost at least $40 billion to $50 billion. An October 2024 UN analysis found that the war has set back Gaza's human development index by 69 years — to 1955. About 100,000 individuals left Gaza between October 7, 2023, and the start of 2025, creating a potential "brain drain" that hinders Gaza's long-term recovery.
The challenges of governance
Gaza's reconstruction will greatly depend on the security situation and who eventually rules postwar Gaza. Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has categorically rejected any possibility of Hamas continuing to govern. The political future remains deeply contested between the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and competing international visions.
Key recommendations for reconstruction
Any sustainable reconstruction plan must address governance before buildings. Infrastructure without governance produces failed states. The international community must coordinate funding mechanisms that bypass political conditionality. Palestinian technocrats should lead reconstruction planning. Education and health must be treated as strategic reconstruction priorities, not afterthoughts. The question of land access — including the 70% of Gaza under Israeli military control — must be resolved before reconstruction can be meaningful.
Topic: Gaza Reconstruction — Gaza Governance · Economy · Post-war planning — Text © Brookings — archived here with attribution to the source. — Original source