Rebuilding Gaza will cost about $71 billion, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told delegates in Brussels, citing months of consultations with the World Bank and United Nations ahead of an EU-hosted donor pledging conference.
Estimate based on UN and World Bank talks
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, told officials in Brussels that rebuilding Gaza after the recent hostilities would require about $71 billion. The figure, she said, follows months of discussions with the World Bank and the United Nations and will shape the donor conference the EU is hosting.
Kallas gave her estimate after meeting Mohammed Mustafa, the Palestinian Authority prime minister, and after a round of talks with country representatives who back a two-state solution. The EU will convene partners for a pledging effort aimed at turning the number into concrete commitments and early projects on the ground.
The scale of the estimate signals a major international effort. Officials say the cost includes immediate reconstruction needs and wider investments in housing, basic services and governance. The EU will try to co-ordinate multilateral funds and private pledges to fill what Kallas described as a sizeable funding gap.
Politics in Brussels — and Dublin
Kallas made clear the aid drive sits alongside a heated political debate inside the EU over ties with Israel. Ireland, Spain and Slovenia have asked for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, citing rising settler violence in the West Bank, Israel's military action in Lebanon and recent changes to Israeli law.
Helen McEntee, Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, co-authored the letter with her Spanish and Slovene counterparts. The move puts Dublin directly into the centre of a discussion that could have both political and economic consequences for member states.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has pushed for a full suspension of the agreement, which covers trade and a range of bilateral relations. Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, replied on social media in Spanish, saying his country "would not accept hypocritical lectures from someone who keeps ties with totalitarian regimes," and citing relations with Turkey and Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro.
Kallas told reporters that member states had placed the suspension on the table but that any withdrawal of the Association Agreement would require a unanimous decision. She also noted there were trade measures that could be adopted by qualified majority if countries wanted to pursue pressure on Israel without seeking full suspension.
How the $71bn figure matters
The EU's estimate gives shape to what's likely to be a lengthy and politically fraught fundraising effort. Donors will be asked to fund a mix of emergency and longer-term needs, including:
- rubble removal and emergency shelters
- housing reconstruction and utilities systems
- health and education services
- public administration and governance support
That makes the role of institutions such as the World Bank and the UN central. They help set standards, vet projects and provide mechanisms to channel large sums into rebuilding work. Kallas said the figure had been derived after prolonged consultations with those institutions, signalling an attempt to present a unified international plan rather than a scattershot collection of bilateral pledges.
For Ireland the implications are both diplomatic and financial.
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Ms Kallas said: "Europe is the biggest supporter of the Palestinian people."
This article was created with AI assistance.
