U.S. officials on Thursday unveiled an ambitious blueprint for a “New Gaza,” presenting a vision of a transformed Palestinian territory rebuilt into a modern, seaside resort city within three years. The plan, revealed during a presentation in Davos, includes high-rise towers, tree-lined promenades, and promises of full employment and economic revival. The announcement comes as Gaza continues to grapple with the aftermath of the October 2023 conflict, which devastated much of the territory and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents.
President Donald Trump framed the project in familiar real estate terms, describing Gaza as “a beautiful piece of property” with immense potential. He said the U.S.-backed initiative would be “a great thing to watch” and insisted that the region’s location by the Mediterranean could make it a major destination. Trump’s comments echoed earlier statements in which he likened Gaza to a future “Riviera of the Middle East,” remarks that sparked global outrage for appearing to reduce the territory’s suffering to a development opportunity.
Jared Kushner, the former White House adviser and Trump’s unofficial envoy for the Gaza ceasefire, described the plan as a “master plan” aiming for “catastrophic success.” He displayed concept art showing a futuristic cityscape of terraced apartment towers and promised that Gaza could be rebuilt with investments of at least $25 billion. Kushner claimed the territory’s GDP could reach $10 billion within a decade and that average household income could rise to $13,000 annually, driven by “100 percent full employment” and wide economic opportunity.
Kushner said the reconstruction effort would involve the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) and noted that Israeli real estate developer Yakir Gabay had volunteered to help “not for profit.” He emphasized that the next 100 days would be spent focused on implementing the plan and hinted that major investment commitments would be announced soon in Washington. The ambitious timeline and optimistic economic projections, however, drew scepticism from analysts who point to Gaza’s ongoing humanitarian crisis and the unresolved political conflict as major obstacles.
The U.S. announcement came amid persistent warnings from United Nations officials about the “inhumane” conditions in Gaza, where entire neighborhoods, hospitals, and schools remain damaged or destroyed. The U.N. has highlighted that the humanitarian disaster continues even after the ceasefire brokered last October, with the territory’s residents living in makeshift shelters and dependent on aid. Gaza’s health ministry reports that more than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s retaliatory assault, with hundreds more killed since the ceasefire took effect.
Notably absent from the Davos presentation was Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country had led a reconstruction plan for Gaza in 2025 supported by Arab states and the European Union. Despite Sisi’s absence, the U.S. officials noted that the Egyptian plan forms the “foundation” of the broader reconstruction project. The U.S. strategy also hinges on the full disarmament of Hamas, a condition of the ceasefire, which U.S. officials say is necessary to attract investors and donors.
As the U.S. pushes its vision for a rebuilt Gaza, questions remain about whether the region can realistically be transformed into a gleaming Mediterranean metropolis while political tensions, security concerns, and humanitarian needs remain unresolved. Critics argue that the plan risks offering a glossy future while failing to address the immediate suffering and the deeper conflict that continues to define Gaza’s reality.
