Author: Steve Holland, Rami Ayyub and Nidal al-Mughrabi
DAVOS, Switzerland/Jerusalem/CAIRO, Jan 22 (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday announced plans to rebuild a “New Gaza” from the ground up with residential towers, data centers and seaside resorts, as part of President Donald Trump’s push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that has been shaken by repeated violations.
In the Gaza Strip, health officials said an Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed five people in the enclave. Israel had no immediate comment on the violence, the latest incident to undermine the October truce.
Trump turned the ceasefire into a broader “peace commission” initiative aimed at resolving conflicts around the world.
After a board signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Trump invited his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to present development plans for Gaza, a region of densely populated towns now in ruins due to two years of war.
“Initially, we were looking at (creating) a free zone and then (having) a Hamas zone,” Kushner told an audience in Davos of Trump’s early plans to rebuild Gaza, where almost 2 million people have been internally displaced.
“Then we said, you know what? Let’s plan for catastrophic success.”
“Master Plan”
Kushner showed the audience slides outlining what he called a “master plan” for “New Gaza,” displayed on a colorful map that reserved areas for residential development, data centers and industrial parks.
The slideshows included an image of a Mediterranean coastline dotted with glittering towers, similar to those in Dubai or Singapore. They suggested that reconstruction efforts would begin in the south, in Rafah, an area under full Israeli military control.
But they did not address key issues such as property rights or compensation for Palestinians who lost their homes, businesses and livelihoods during the war. They also did not address where displaced Palestinians might live during reconstruction.
Kushner did not say who would fund the reconstruction efforts, which will first require clearing an estimated 68 million tons of rubble and war debris.
Kushner said there would be a meeting in Washington in the coming weeks “where we will announce … the significant contributions that will be made by the private sector,” without elaborating.
The slides Kushner presented were nearly identical to those leaked to the Wall Street Journal in December. The newspaper reported at the time that the United States had offered to “anchor” 20% of the reconstruction project, but did not disclose details.
Trump has floated the idea of transforming chronically impoverished and dilapidated Gaza into the “Middle East Riviera”, an idea that has been criticized by Palestinians.
Rafah Crossing
Kushner’s speech in Davos followed a speech by Palestinian technocratic leader Ali Shas, who has Washington’s backing to run the enclave under Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan.
A key element of the ceasefire agreement that has yet to materialize is the reopening of the main Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt for Palestinians to enter and exit. SARS announced via video link that the Rafah crossing will open next week.
“The opening of Rafah is a sign that Gaza is no longer closed to the future and war,” Shas said.
Israel, which controls the Gaza side of the crossing, has refused to reopen the crossing unless Hamas fulfills its ceasefire obligations and returns the remains of the last hostage in the area.
After the SARS announcement, an Israeli political source said special operations were underway to return Ran Gweli’s body and that Israel would discuss reopening border crossings starting next week.
ongoing violence
The next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan will see Hamas disarm and deploy international peacekeepers to the crowded coastal enclave as Israeli forces further withdraw. The first phase gave Israel control of more than half of Gaza and Hamas control of a small sliver of territory along the coast.
Israel continues to carry out airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, often accusing Hamas militants of preparing attacks on its forces or incursions into areas it controls.
Health officials at Gaza’s largest hospital, Al Shifa Hospital, said four Palestinians were killed Thursday in shelling from Israeli tanks in the Zeitoun suburb of eastern Gaza City. A fifth person has died in a fire in Israel’s southern Khan Younis, health officials said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
A day earlier, fires in Israel killed 11 people, including two boys and three journalists, health officials said. Palestinians in Gaza held funerals for the three journalists on Thursday, and journalism advocates said they had been using drones to film the displaced people’s tents.
The Israeli military said without providing evidence that the drones it operated were “linked to Hamas” and “posed a threat to (forces’) security.” The military said its troops “precisely struck the suspect who activated the drone.”
Health officials say Israel has killed more than 480 Palestinians since the ceasefire came into effect, and militants also killed three Israeli soldiers.
According to Israeli statistics, Israel launched an air and ground war in Gaza after a Hamas-led cross-border attack killed 1,200 people on October 7, 2023. Health authorities say Israeli attacks have killed 71,000 Palestinians.
(Reporting by Steven Holland, Rami Ayoub, Nidal Mugrabi and Pesha Majeed; Editing by Mark Heinrich)