Rebuilding Gaza — The Geopolitics of Rubble

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Aaryan Bora, Political Columnist

In Gaza, the war has ended, but politics still determine who will have the authority and control over the reconstruction process. The estimated $70 billion needed for rebuilding includes funds for restoring critical infrastructure such as hospitals, water systems, and energy grids, and is a humanitarian challenge and a significant geopolitical test. The recent ceasefire agreement has created a narrow window for recovery and reconstruction efforts. Yet, the question of who controls Gaza’s rebuilding process has already become a fault line among competing regional and international powers.


For Israel, reconstruction is a strategic tool for exerting influence. By controlling the import of construction materials like concrete and steel, which are classified as dual-use items—civilian and military—Israel maintains de facto power over what construction occurs within Gaza. This control effectively allows Israel to influence the pace and nature of Gaza’s physical and political rebuilding.

Egypt, on the other hand, controls the Rafah border crossing, Gaza’s sole land entry point outside of Israel, and leverages it as a diplomatic and political currency in negotiations with both Washington and Tel Aviv. The Gulf states, particularly wealthy nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, are actively positioning themselves as Gaza’s future financial benefactors. Saudi Arabia and Qatar see reconstruction as an entry point for expanding their influence and shaping the post-war governance landscape, with each seeking to project their ideological preferences—Saudi Arabia promoting pragmatic stability and order, while Qatar tends to support Islamist currents and political Islam.

The United States and European Union, while promising support and aid, face paralysis due to internal contradictions. Rebuilding Gaza necessitates dealing with the remnants of Hamas, which the US and its allies designate as a terrorist organisation, but providing aid risks bolstering Hamas’s infrastructure and influence, potentially perpetuating the cycle of violence. Western aid is likely to flow through intermediaries such as UN agencies, NGOs, and a proposed “transitional technocratic council” speculated by Trump’s administration as a possible interim governing body.

The scale of destruction in Gaza is staggering: according to the United Nations, 84% of Gaza’s infrastructure—including water and electricity supply systems, schools, hospitals, and housing—has been severely damaged or destroyed. This devastation requires a comprehensive Marshall Plan involving massive international investment and technical support, similar to the post-World War II recovery efforts in Europe. However, no major power is willing to bear this burden without binding political guarantees that align with their strategic interests.

In essence, Gaza’s reconstruction has become a battleground where the conflict persists through economic and political means. Every project—be it road construction, desalination plants, or housing development—carries the influence and agendas of its sponsors. Without a truly international framework that transcends the simplistic divide of aid for control, Gaza risks becoming less a place of renewal and more a fragmented mosaic of competing interests built precariously upon the ruins of war.

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