US State Department said on Friday that Steve Fagin, a career diplomat, will work alongside US Army Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, the military head already appointed to the hub set up after the October 10 ceasefire.
Some 200 US troops were sent to the centre, set up in a rented warehouse, where they work with soldiers from Israel and European countries, representatives of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and personnel from the United Nations and aid groups.
“Rubble represents a major challenge in Gaza, where the estimated amount is between 55 and 60 million tonnes,” said Jaco Cilliers, UNDP Representative in Palestine.
The UN agency taking the vital first step by clearing roads and recycling materials to pave new access routes and temporary facilities.
Dozens of diggers and other vehicles have been deployed along Al-Jalaa Street, where UNDP says it is working around the clock to open roads that have been blocked for months.
“This is a very arduous process and will take many years to complete,” Mr. Cilliers cautioned.
Now we must deliver lasting peace and a secure future for the whole region.
The UK is providing additional humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, and we will lead efforts to accelerate its reconstruction.
The Palestinian Authority delegation was invited “personally” by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who will host leaders from at least 20 countries. The guest list includes U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and representatives from Italy, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Qatar.
The security element will focus on creating a stabilization force and establishing a US-Qatari-Egyptian-Turkish task force to locate bodies of hostages.
The second topic will center on the creation of a “Palestinian committee to end the state of permanent war and aim for a complete withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the Gaza Strip,” says the French diplomat.
Minister Abdel Aty highlighted the broad regional and international support for Egypt‘s reconstruction plan. He announced ongoing preparations for an international conference in Cairo to secure the necessary funding for the plan‘s implementation.
Additionally, he proposed that the United Nations Security Council consider establishing an international presence in Palestinian territories, potentially through deploying peacekeeping or protection forces, to ensure stability and support the path toward establishing an independent Palestinian state.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the UK have said they support the Egypt-led Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza.
„The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza,“ the ministers said in a joint statement on Saturday.
(March 4, 2025)
According to the plan, Egypt and Jordan will train Palestinian police forces in preparation for their deployment in Gaza.
The plan, however, states that this effort may include other countries in the future to provide political and financial support.
Then it proposes that the United Nations Security Council should consider the idea of “an international presence” in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
This, the plan states, could involve the deployment of international protection or peacekeeping forces, as part of the rebuilding process.
Excellencies,
The true foundation of recovery in Gaza will be more than concrete and steel.
It will be dignity, self-determination and security.
This means staying true to the bedrock of international law.
It means rejecting any form of ethnic cleansing.
And it means forging a political solution.
There is no sustainable future for Gaza that is not part of a viable Palestinian State.
There can be no recovery without an end to the occupation.
No justice without accountability for violations of international law.
And no sustainable reconstruction without a clear and principled political horizon.
The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, to chart their own future, and to live on their land in freedom and security.
There must be irreversible steps now toward the realization of the two-State solution — before it’s too late.
The only path to lasting peace is one where two states — Israel and Palestine — live side-by-side in peace and security, in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.
The United Nations stands with you in this essential effort.
Thank you.
Speaking at the emergency summit of Arab nations on the situation in the Middle East and Gaza reconstruction in Cairo, António Guterres welcomed Arab-led efforts to mobilize support for Gaza’s recovery.
He stressed that rebuilding the war-ravaged territory must be guided by principles that respect international law and prevent further cycles of violence.
Tuesday’s summit in Cairo included the emir of Qatar, the vice president of the United Arab Emirates and the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia — countries whose support is crucial for any postwar plan. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also attended.
Using small tools and his bare hands, he sifts through mounds of twisted debris and dirt to try and unearth belongings and important paperwork such as property deeds to prove he is the legal owner.
He dreams of one day being able to rebuild; in the short-term, he hopes that even the rubble might hold some value.
The war in Gaza has left an unprecedented level of destruction, with an estimated 51 million tons of rubble blanketing the landscape where bustling neighborhoods once thrived.
According to a new UN damage and needs assessment report, over 60 per cent of homes – amounting to some 292,000 – and 65 per cent of roads have been destroyed, across the approximately 360 square kilometre enclave.
As the international community ponders Gaza’s future and how to rebuild, Al-Majdalawi is sure of one thing: “We will not leave. That will not happen. This is our land.’’
This campaign comes in response to the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s telecommunications infrastructure amidst the genocidal onslaught, which has left millions cut off from the world, restricted emergency response efforts, and further crippled an already devastated economy.
The #ReconnectGaza campaign was launched today during the RightsCon international conference held in Taiwan, bringing together activists and global experts to discuss human rights issues in the digital age.
CAIRO – 21 February 2025: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has departed from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, returning to Egypt after attending an informal meeting focused on the Palestinian issue.
The meeting saw the participation of the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.
RIYADH — Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman will hold an informal fraternal meeting with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Egypt‘s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Riyadh on Friday, Feb. 21. The meeting follows an invitation extended by the Crown Prince to these leaders, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting an official Saudi source.
This meeting comes within the context of the special friendly meetings that have been held periodically for many years between the leaders of the GCC, Jordan and Egypt, the source said.
The official confirmed that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is set to travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, likely on Thursday, to discuss Egypt’s plan for post-war Gaza governance. (…)
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that the Egyptian plan would not include Hamas or the PA. The report said it would involve a police force made up of PA policemen who remained in Gaza after 2007, when Hamas won legislative elections and took control of the enclave.
MEE reported in May that Hamas was prepared to show „flexibility“ about the future governance of Gaza, stating its condition was that Gaza’s fate was agreed upon by other Palestinian factions and not imposed by either the United States or Israel.