Rebuilding Gaza could take 10 to 15 years, Trump envoy tells Axios
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There is “almost nothing left“ of Gaza, says US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TEL AVIV - There is “almost nothing left” of Gaza, and rebuilding the war-ravaged enclave could take 10 to 15 years, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, told Axios in an interview at the end of his trip to the region on Jan 30.
“People are moving north to get back to their homes, and they see what happened and turn around and leave... There is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there,” Mr Witkoff told the news website after visiting Gaza.
Mr Witkoff, a real estate investor and Trump campaign donor with business ties to Qatar and other Gulf states, was in the region to oversee implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
His assessment comes days after Mr Trump floated the idea that some of Arab nations should get involved with and build “housing at a different location where they (Gazans) can maybe live in peace for a change”.
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza – territory they want to form part of an independent state – has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and repeatedly rejected by neighbouring Arab states
Mr Witkoff told Axios he had not discussed with Mr Trump the idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza.
A UN damage assessment released in January showed that clearing more than 50 million tonnes of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to US$1.2 billion (S$1.6 billion).
The debris is believed to be contaminated with asbestos, with some refugee camps struck during the war known to have been built with the material.
The rubble also likely holds human remains. The Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates that 10,000 bodies are missing under the debris.
US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Mr Steve Witkoff, in Israel’s Tel Aviv on Jan 30.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“There has been this perception we can get to a solid plan for Gaza in five years. But it’s impossible. This is a 10- to 15-year rebuilding plan,” Mr Witkoff told Axios.
“There is nothing left standing. Many unexploded ordnances. It is not safe to walk there. It is very dangerous. I wouldn’t have known this without going there and inspecting,” he said.
