JERUSALEM, April 20, 2026 (WAFA) – The European Union and the United Nations today released the final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), jointly conducted with the World Bank, assessing the damages, economic losses, and recovery and reconstruction needs in Gaza following 24 months of conflict.
According to the assessment, recovery and reconstruction needs in Gaza are estimated at $ 71.4 billion over the next decade, including $ 26.3 billion required in the first eighteen months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure, and support economic recovery. Physical infrastructure damages are estimated at $ 35.2 billion, with economic and social losses amounting to $ 22.7 billion.
The report finds that the hardest-hit sectors include housing, health, education, commerce, and agriculture. Over 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, more than 50 % of hospitals are non-functional, nearly all schools destroyed or damaged, and the economy has contracted by 84% in Gaza.
The report highlights catastrophic impact on human development across Gaza, which is estimated to have been set back by 77 years. Around 1.9 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, and more than 60% of the population has lost their homes. The report also notes that women, children, persons with disabilities, and those with pre-existing vulnerabilities bear the greatest burden.
The RDNA provides the analytical foundation for early recovery planning and reconstruction, in line with UN Security Council resolutions, including UNSCR 2803. Given the immense scale of need, recovery efforts must run in parallel with humanitarian action, ensuring an effective and well-sequenced transition from emergency relief toward reconstruction at scale — one that encompasses both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
The European Union and the United Nations emphasise that recovery and reconstruction should be Palestinian-led and incorporate building-back-better and building-forward-better approaches that actively support the transition of governance to the Palestinian Authority in line with UNSCR 2803 and the Comprehensive Plan, as well as advance a durable political settlement based on the two-state solution. Planning and implementation should be inclusive, transparent, and accountable, and should pay particular attention to the needs of women, children, elderly, and persons with disabilities.
The European Union and the United Nations equally recognise that a set of enabling conditions must be met for UNSCR 2803 to be implemented effectively on the ground. Without them, neither recovery nor reconstruction can succeed.
A sustained ceasefire and adequate security are minimum conditions. Unimpeded humanitarian access and immediate restoration of essential services must underpin recovery. Free movement of people, goods, and reconstruction materials, within and between Gaza and the West Bank, and a functional, transparent financial system are critical. Clear, accountable governance, including the definition of mandates and establishment of conditions for the transitional administrative bodies under UNSCR 2803 to fulfill their role, in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, and a credible pathway for the Palestinian Authority’s future governance across the entire Occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is essential. Debris clearance, explosive ordnance management, and resolution of housing, land, and property rights are prerequisites for reconstruction. The international community must mobilise resources in a targeted, sequenced, coordinated manner and all obstacles to the deployment of expertise and equipment must be removed rapidly.
The European Union and the United Nations are unequivocal that progress on Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction, the implementation of UNSCR 2803, and the realisation of a two-state solution are not parallel tracks, but inherently interconnected. The European Union and the United Nations underline that UNSCR 2803 cannot be implemented and the fully Comprehensive Plan cannot succeed without both: the physical and institutional rebuilding of Gaza, and a clear pathway to Palestinian statehood across the occupied Palestinian territory. Palestinians deserve a future grounded in dignity and the fulfillment of their right to self-determination. The international community must rise to that responsibility — and the European Union and the United Nations commit to doing so, in support of the Palestinian people and of a just and lasting peace in the region.
K.T
