EU launches $1bn Gaza recovery fund at Brussels donor meeting
The European Commission says the Team Gaza Initiative will fund early recovery work, while UN and EU estimates put rebuilding needs above $71bn.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
The European Commission announced a nearly $1bn fund on Monday to support early recovery and reconstruction work in Gaza after more than two years of war. The package is meant to begin restoring basic services in an enclave where EU and UN assessments say rebuilding needs run into the tens of billions of dollars.
The Team Gaza Initiative was launched at a donor meeting in Brussels, according to a European Commission statement. The commission said the fund will back projects to repair water and sanitation systems, remove debris and restore health infrastructure.
Dubravka Suica, the EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, said before the meeting that the initial package would be worth almost 900 million euros, or about $1bn.
“Our objective is clear: to help build hope, resilience and a better future for the Palestinian people,” Suica said, according to AFP and Reuters.
Donors line up behind early recovery plan
The European Commission said Spain, France, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium are taking part in the initiative. The World Bank and the European Investment Bank are also involved, along with the commission itself.
Australia and Canada are expected to join, according to the commission statement. Officials did not provide a country-by-country breakdown of contributions.
The funding is intended to support water and sanitation access, rubble and waste clearance, and the repair of health, energy, agricultural and food systems, the commission said. Suica described the effort as focused on “early recovery” and said donors wanted to show they were ready to begin.
“We now need the conditions on the ground that will allow the support to reach the people in Gaza,” Suica said.
Rebuilding estimates far exceed new fund
The planned fund is small compared with the scale of damage identified by international assessments. The European Union and the United Nations said in April that more than $71bn would be needed over 10 years for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction.
The Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment report found that $26.3bn would be required in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery, according to the EU and UN.
Hadja Lahbib, the EU commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management, called conditions in Gaza “unbearable” before the fund was announced. She urged humanitarian access to Gaza and more political engagement from Israeli authorities.
“Nine months after the so-called ceasefire, shelling continues, disease is spreading, people are dying,” Lahbib told reporters, according to AFP and Reuters.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire last October, but Al Jazeera has reported that Israel has repeatedly violated it. Al Jazeera reported that the fighting has become less intense, but that at least 1,100 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded since the ceasefire began.
Al Jazeera reported that the war has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians in total. The latest recovery effort was announced as aid officials and donors seek ways to deliver basic services while violence and humanitarian needs continue.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.