Trump on Gaza: U.S. ownership, no Palestinian right of return. See updated damage maps.
President Donald Trump said Palestinians will not have the right to return to their homes in the Gaza Strip under his proposal for U.S. ownership of the territory in a Fox News interview, describing Gaza as "a beautiful piece of land" and "a future real estate development."
Trump's remarks are the latest reiteration of his call last week for a U.S. takeover of the Palestinian enclave, relocation of the people who live there to other countries, and turning the war-torn region into the "Riviera of the Middle East." Trump reaffirmed his commitment to buying and owning Gaza aboard Air Force One on his way to the Super Bowl on Sunday, according to Reuters.The proposition has drawn sharp rebukes from human rights organizations, Palestinian leadership, Arab nations, European allies and the United Nations Human Rights Office, according to a Reuters list of reactions to the announcement.
"It is crucial that we move towards the next phase of the ceasefire, to release all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, end the war and reconstruct Gaza, with full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law," the UNHR said in a statement to Reuters. "Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited."
But with very little infrastructure in Gaza still standing, what would rebuilding Gaza look like?
How much damage has the Gaza Strip received since the start of the war?
Since the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, and led to the kidnapping of 250 hostages, estimates from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry put the death toll of Israel's response at 62,000, and roughly 90% of the 2.2 million people in Gaza have been displaced.
The lasting scars on the Gaza landscape are plain to see in the more than 360,000 structures − homes, schools, hospitals, mosques and other buildings − that lie in a vast expanse of toxic rubble. A satellite assessment by two academic researchers that began shortly after the start of the war shows how quickly and widespread the destruction of buildings has been, especially in Gaza City, where 74.2% of the buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
Below is a look at four time snapshots since the start of the war:
Gaza City, the territory's capital and home of its only port, is the hardest-hit area, with roughly 74.2% of its buildings in ruins.
Another setback for Gaza comes to its agricultural production and the implications that has for its near- and long-term food security.
The war has damaged the land and greenhouses where produce is grown and the irrigation infrastructure needed to feed the crops.
A study led by He Yin, a satellite analyst and assistant professor of geography at Kent State University, determined that as of Jan. 21, roughly 77% to 81% of tree crops in Gaza probably have been damaged, and crops in Gaza City and North Gaza have been hit hardest.
The study also found that 65% of greenhouses haven likely been damaged in the Gaza Strip, up from the 58% assessed damage as of Sept. 27, 2024. North Gaza and Gaza City are home to nearly all of Gaza’s greenhouses.
Any recovery of Gaza's agriculture, the study says, will require "targeted investments in rebuilding water management systems, restoring soil health, and providing technical support to farmers" during reconstruction.
As for other food sources, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has reported that more than 95% of the country's cattle and nearly half the sheep had died since the conflict began.
What would it take to rebuild the Gaza Strip?
Whether at the direction of the United States or some kind of partnership with Middle East states, rebuilding Gaza will take decades.
According to a U.N. damage assessment released last month, any reconstruction would need to begin with clearing the more than 55 million tons of rubble that resulted from sustained Israeli bombardment, much of the rubble containing asbestos and human remains. Clearing rubble, which involves heavy equipment like bulldozers and cranes, could take 21 years and cost $1.2 billion.
Though terms of the Jan. 15 ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar include the reconstruction of Gaza, those plans are part of a third phase and have yet to be determined; the first two phases are focused on the ceasefire itself and the exchange of hostages.
Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman
SOURCES Reuters; damage analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data by Corey Scher of CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University; United Nations Human Rights Office; Yin, H. Eklund, L. Habash, D. Qumsiyeh, M. Van Den Hoek, J. "Evaluating war-induced damage to agricultural land in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 using PlanetScope and SkySat imagery," Science of Remote Sensing.