From the rubble of his destroyed home in Khan Yunis, 29-year-old computer technician Hamza al-Shami looked across a landscape of utter devastation. As the ceasefire began in Gaza on Friday, he rushed from the tent where he had been sheltering to what had once been his family home — only to find it reduced to rubble. “The house, which had several floors and a workshop where I used to work with my brothers, was completely destroyed,” he said. “Even the streets I knew were unrecognisable.”
The destruction across Gaza is unprecedented. United Nations data shows that 83 percent of all structures in Gaza City are damaged, including more than 17,700 buildings that have been completely destroyed. Similar devastation is evident in Khan Yunis and Rafah, where entire neighborhoods have been leveled. For residents like Shami, returning home is confronting the total erasure of daily life.
Taha Tawfiq, a 53-year-old civil servant from Abasan, cannot return to his home because the area remains too dangerous. “Gaza is devastated and needs to be rebuilt completely — homes, schools, hospitals,” he said. “If reconstruction doesn’t start immediately, it will be a disaster.”
Plans for reconstruction are already being drawn up, with U.S. President Donald Trump and former U.K. Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair backing a $50 billion effort to rebuild Gaza. Proposed plans include new residential grids along the coast, economic development zones in the east, and an island port to support trade. A major summit in Egypt is expected to bring together Arab and European donors to formalize the reconstruction blueprint.
International contractors are expected to play a central role. Saudi Arabia’s Binladin Group, Qatari and Turkish firms, and U.S. engineering companies such as Bechtel and KBR are seen as key players, alongside British firms including Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke, and Arup. Local labor will also be critical to the rebuilding effort.
Before construction can begin, 54 million tonnes of rubble must be cleared, a task nearly seven times the scale of the destruction in Mosul, Iraq. Much of the debris is laced with unexploded ordnance, and hundreds of miles of tunnels built by Hamas add further danger. Experts such as Philip Bouverat, a veteran of major reconstruction projects, emphasize that clearance must be completed before rebuilding can proceed safely.
The UN Mine Action Service and private companies like Brimstone, a UK-based explosives clearance firm, are expected to lead the effort, using drones and ground-penetrating radar to identify hazards. Once the rubble is removed, temporary modular housing, schools, and hospitals can be installed, along with restored water, electricity, and sanitation systems.
Trump and Blair’s proposed “board of peace” would oversee the allocation of funds and ensure transparency. Palestinian entrepreneur Adnan Mjalli has suggested using a blockchain-based “Gazacoin” to track aid and prevent misuse, aiming to avoid corruption that has plagued previous post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
Despite the enormous challenges, Gazans remain cautiously optimistic. “I believe reconstruction could bring a new beginning for Gaza,” said Shami. “It will create jobs for people who lost everything and give young people a chance to live with dignity.”
