Mohammad Mustafa Meets World Bank, UN, EU Over Updated Gaza Damage And Needs Report

Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa met in his office in Ramallah with World Bank representative Stefan Imblad, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator Rames Alakbarov, and EU representative Alexander Stutzmann, in the presence of Finance Minister Ishtifan Salama, to review the updated international report on damages and needs in the Gaza Strip.

The meeting focused on the joint international report on rapid damage and needs assessment, and Mustafa welcomed efforts to update it after months since the ceasefire, saying the report “forms an important basis for coordinating recovery and reconstruction efforts and unifying international interventions to meet the needs of the people in the Gaza Strip.”

Anadolu Ajansı

The international report said total damages and losses from the war on the Gaza Strip exceeded 75 billion dollars, with direct infrastructure damages reaching about 35.2 billion dollars and economic losses about 22.7 billion.

It also said housing was the most affected sector with about 18 billion dollars, followed by trade and industry with about 9 billion dollars, then transport with about 3.21 billion dollars, and water and sanitation with about 1.70 billion dollars.

The report estimated urgent recovery needs in the first months at 10.8 billion dollars and said long-term reconstruction requires more than 45 billion dollars over five years, while noting more than 1.9 million Palestinians were internally displaced and about 60% of Gaza’s population lost their homes.

The joint assessment issued by the European Union and the United Nations, in cooperation with the World Bank, estimated Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction needs at about $71.4 billion over the next decade, including $26.3 billion required in the first eighteen months to restart essential services, repair vital infrastructure, and stimulate economic recovery.

It said material damages to infrastructure amounted to about $35.2 billion versus economic and social losses estimated at about $22.7 billion, and it described the destruction as affecting housing, health, education, trade, and agriculture, with more than 371,888 housing units destroyed or damaged.

Al-Bawaba Ash-Shorouq

The assessment stressed that recovery and reconstruction must be Palestinian-led and based on a “rebuilding better” approach, and it said the success of the process hinges on “a sustainable ceasefire and security, ensuring access to humanitarian aid and restoring services without obstacles.”

It also called for freedom of movement for people, goods, and reconstruction materials within and between Gaza and the West Bank, and it urged an effective and transparent financial system and governance, accountability, and faster rubble removal and clearance of unexploded ordnance.

In Ramallah, Mustafa told international partners that a ceasefire forms the basis for coordinating international efforts for reconstruction, and he said the Palestinian government attaches great importance to strengthening the capacity of national institutions to manage the recovery phase.

WAFA reported that on May 21, 2026, Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa met in his office in Ramallah with representatives of the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union, including World Bank representative Stefan Emblad, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov, and EU representative Alexandre Stutzmann, in the presence of Finance Minister Estephan Salameh.

WAFA said Mustafa welcomed the efforts to update the damage assessment report after months since the ceasefire took effect, praising cooperation between international institutions and Palestinian institutions, and it said he stressed that the report forms a key basis for coordinating recovery and reconstruction efforts and unifying international interventions.

The report described by WAFA estimated total damages and losses caused by the war in Gaza between October 2023 and October 2025 exceed $75 billion, with direct infrastructure damage of $35.2 billion and economic losses of $22.7 billion.

By sector, WAFA said housing damages were estimated at $18 billion, trade and industry at $9 billion, transport at $3.21 billion, and water and sanitation at $1.70 billion, while health sector economic losses were $6.78 billion plus $1.39 billion in direct damage.

WAFA further said the report estimates urgent early recovery needs at $10.8 billion and long-term reconstruction at more than $45 billion over the next five years, while noting more than 1.9 million Palestinians were internally displaced and around 60% of Gaza’s population has lost their homes amid a severe deterioration in basic services.