Gaza-bound technocrats draw up 71 rebuilding projects, which hinge on Israeli approval
Board of Peace-overseen committee tasked with replacing Hamas has detailed plans for first 6 months of work, but there's no guarantee they'll be able to start after Israeli election
The new Palestinian technocratic government tasked with replacing Hamas in Gaza has crafted 71 projects for rehabilitating the war-decimated enclave, aiming to implement them in its first six months. Almost all of the plans, however, require significant cooperation from Israel, which has been largely reluctant to allow such efforts to date.
The Times of Israel obtained a copy of the “6-Month Gaza Recovery Program” that was drawn up by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) and finalized during a late-August meeting in London of its commissioners.
The NCAG is being closely supervised by the Board of Peace, a US-controlled body that was given a UN Security Council mandate to oversee the postwar management of the Gaza Strip.
The Recovery Program contains one-page summaries of the 71 projects, detailing their expected impact, the NCAG commissioner in charge and how much each will cost over a six-month period. They are designed in a way that potential donor countries and entities can adopt a particular project to bankroll.
The total funding needed for all of the programs is roughly $6 billion. While the US secured pledges for $17 billion in February, only a tiny fraction of that has been delivered and many of the offers came from Gulf countries, which have since shifted priorities amid the Iran war.
No start date is given for the projects, as almost all of them require the NCAG to first begin operating from inside Gaza. The technocratic committee has been stuck in Egypt since its establishment in January, as the Board of Peace spent months coaxing Hamas to accept a disarmament plan that would pave the way for the terror group to hand over control of Gaza to the NCAG.
Hamas finally agreed on July 30, but progress has since been held up by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which rejects the disarmament plan, saying it will not withdraw the IDF from Gaza until the terror group gives up its arms completely.
While Board of Peace officials believe Netanyahu’s opposition is motivated by the upcoming Knesset election and that the US-controlled panel will be able to advance the initiative after the vote, there are no guarantees that any Israeli government will be willing to cooperate substantially, particularly in the immediate period after the next one is established in November or December.
Not wanting to halt operations completely in the interim, the Board of Peace has sought to advance smaller projects to repair water, sewage and sanitation infrastructure in the Strip. Netanyahu agreed to establish a working group with the Board of Peace to advance such efforts, but an official from the board admitted that those too were largely stuck due to Israeli foot-dragging.
The stagnation means well over half of Gaza’s population of roughly 2 million are almost certain to spend another winter in tattered tents.
Board of Peace officials have also received warnings from Israeli meteorological experts who forecast an earlier winter this year, with more extreme conditions than normal, the two sources familiar said.
In the meantime, the Board of Peace is fine-tuning the NCAG projects and working to secure donations for them. They will be further discussed when senior representatives from both bodies meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later this month, the sources said.
Notably, the projects are far more modest than the high-end high-rises that were part of the master plan for a “Gaza Riviera” that US special envoy Jared Kushner pitched at the Board of Peace’s January unveiling.
Their realization would still provide massive relief for Gazans by repairing roads, homes, schools, mosques, hospitals, ports and crossings; expanding fuel and food deliveries; upgrading internet and cellular connectivity; reviving the judicial system and a Palestinian airline; establishing warehouse and logistics hubs, a Gaza tech park, a new digital payment system, a center for alternative disputes and a community radio channel.
There are also projects aimed at disarming Hamas, including the clearance of tunnels, a weapons buy-back program, mobilizing the International Stabilization Force and training a new Gaza police force.
“The scope and level of detail reflected in this document demonstrate the seriousness and depth of the preparation underway. This is a working prioritization exercise, not a final, approved or fully funded project list, but it shows that incredibly meticulous implementation planning is taking place,” a Board of Peace spokesperson told The Times of Israel in a statement.
“These are practical programs grounded in what Gaza’s people need, covering humanitarian delivery, health, education, infrastructure, employment, public services, civilian policing and accountable governance,” the statement said. “This is not a speculative vision for Gaza, nor simply another mechanism for managing the consequences of recurring conflict. It is serious planning for Gaza’s political, civilian and security transformation.”
“Full implementation depends on verified demilitarization and practical Israeli cooperation. Once demilitarization occurs, there must be a credible plan ready to replace Hamas-controlled structures with a functioning Palestinian civilian administration and prevent Gaza from returning to the conditions that repeatedly produced instability and conflict,” it continued.
“We believe this work is firmly in Israel’s interests: improving Palestinian lives, establishing accountable governance and creating the foundations for lasting security.”
The statement also said that while the Board of Peace would prefer that the NCAG “present this evolving program directly to the Palestinian people and within its full political and operational context, the substance speaks for itself: serious, detailed preparations for what comes next.
Some of the most notable projects are detailed below.
Humanitarian shelters
This $1.05 billion project aims to provide caravans to roughly 400,000 Palestinians currently living in tents. This would suggest that the vast majority of those not included will remain in tents for the foreseeable future.
The Recovery Program notes that Turkey has pledged to donate 70,000 mobile homes and that 5,000 mobile homes donated by Egypt and Qatar are currently sitting on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border due to Israel’s refusal to allow them into the Strip.
Emirati neighborhood
This is expected to be the first major housing project advanced by the Board of Peace and is entirely funded by the United Arab Emirates.
It will be able to house 50,000 people in a “dignified transitional humanitarian camp,” the Recovery Program states.
The document acknowledges that additional approvals are still needed for the project, which is earmarked for the Rafah area of southern Gaza, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the NCAG and the UAE.
Hospital rehabilitation
The Recovery Program includes two projects focused on rehabilitating Khan Younis’s European Hospital, northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital, and Gaza City’s Al-Rantisi Children’s, Al-Shifa, Al-Helo and Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospitals.
The six medical centers were badly damaged during the war, with Israel revealing that they were used extensively by Hamas for military operations.
Omari Mosque and Porphyrius Church
This $10 million project will repair two of Gaza’s most prominent religious sites.
Back-to-school program
This $194 million program will refurbish 300 buildings to serve as schools, along with the establishment of 117 temporary classroom units capable of serving 315,900 students in total.
Overseas studies
This project will serve the roughly 10,000 Palestinian students who were supposed to leave Gaza to study abroad before the war started.
A US official told The Times of Israel that Israel has been seeking to exploit this program as part of the government’s efforts to “encourage the migration of” Palestinians from Gaza.
The official stressed that this project will allow and encourage those who leave to study at universities abroad to return to Gaza afterward.
Rafah logistics zone
This $25 million project aims to “provide a secure and efficient hub near the Rafah crossing for fuel storage and distribution, warehousing of humanitarian aid, loading operations and truck parking,” the Recovery Program states.
It will allow for secure storage for humanitarian aid and up to 15 days’ worth of fuel for Gaza.
Border crossing facilities
This $15 million dollar project would see the restoration of full operations at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza as well as the Karni and Erez Crossings between Israel and Gaza.
The improvements would allow the number of trucks entering the Strip to climb from 300 trucks per day to 1,500; and for the number of passengers moving through Rafah to rise from 100 per day to 2,000.
Supply chain rollout
This $23 million project will govern all private-sector goods entering and transiting through Gaza to end the current system that allows for diversion, hoarding and illegal taxation by Hamas and other armed groups.
The project will also expand the number of Palestinian merchants who are allowed to import into Gaza, a figure that is currently capped by Israel.
The plan aims to reduce prices of staple goods by 45% and fuel by 65%, with prices progressively returning toward pre-2023 levels.
Palestinian Airlines
The proposed revival of Palestinian Airlines will likely require the cooperation of the Palestinian Authority, in addition to Israel, as Ramallah owns the company, which was liquidated in 2020 after years of limited operations.
The airline has one remaining aircraft — a Fokker model — from its original fleet, and maintaining the plane is needed for the carrier to survive. But the aircraft stationed at Al-Arish Airport in Egypt has recently suffered from technical failures and significant repairs are needed.
The $5 million project is aimed at “helping restore air-transport connectivity for passengers and supporting the movement of essential goods during the recovery period,” the Recovery Program states.
Diesel generators and fuel
This $104 million project aims to immediately send into Gaza 260 diesel generators together with six months’ worth of operational fuel to help power critical health and educational facilities, as winter approaches.
Weapons buyback policy and process
This project will facilitate the Board of Peace’s disarmament plan by offering compensation for those who return the estimated 100,000 small and medium arms held by individuals in Gaza.
The Recovery Plan acknowledges that the exact details of the program, including the amount of compensation that will be offered for each weapon, have yet to be decided on by the Board of Peace.
Training of security forces
This $143 million project aims to send the first 5,000 members of the new Gaza police force for 10 weeks of training in Egypt. This project — among others — has been held up by Israeli refusal to allow recruits to leave Gaza, even though those Palestinians cleared vetting by the Shin Bet security agency, Board of Peace officials told The Times of Israel last week.
Police detention center
This project will establish a detention center in the Rafah area for up to 1,000 prisoners, including 200 high-security inmates and 100 female inmates, in order to promote law and order in the Strip.
Mission support site
This base in Rafah will support up to 5,000 members of the International Stabilization Force, which is tasked with phasing out the IDF and securing Gaza’s borders.