What experiences of devastated Middle East cities signify for Gaza’s postwar recovery

Palestinians check the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, on November 1, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 23 November 2023
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What experiences of devastated Middle East cities signify for Gaza’s postwar recovery

  • As hostage deal takes effect, questions arise as to whether recovery is possible given the scale of destruction
  • From Mosul to Aleppo, Arab cities devastated by conflict testify that reconstruction may not be clearcut

ATHENS/IRBIL: As the hostage deal agreed by Israel and Hamas ushers in the potential for a brief pause in the fighting in Gaza, thoughts are already turning in some quarters to the possibility of the Palestinian enclave’s recovery from unprecedented physical devastation.

If the experience of other Arab cities battered by conflict in recent years is anything to go by, the recovery of Gaza will not be a straightforward task, complicated by issues such as financing, leadership and guarantees of a lasting peace.

The Arab world is no stranger to the labor of rebuilding. More than 8,000 buildings were destroyed in Mosul’s Old City during the battle to retake the northern Iraqi city from Daesh in 2017. Syria’s Aleppo likewise saw more than 35,000 of its structures ruined during the continuing civil war, which began in 2011.

These cities share one characteristic in common — their destruction. But the extent of their reconstruction since has hinged on a complex web of factors, including geographical location, size (both in area and population), the current security situation, and the actions, or lack thereof, taken by local and national governments.




A picture taken on March 9, 2017 in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, which was recaptured by government forces in December 2016, shows people walking past heavily damaged buildings. (AFP)

For example, while much of Mosul remains in ruins, the relative lack of conflict for the past six years has enabled rebuilding initiatives such as “Revive the Spirit of Mosul,” a multimillion-dollar project led by UNESCO with assistance from the EU and UAE, which intends to revitalize the iconic Iraqi city.

Aleppo faces similar issues. The city is being reconstructed in a piecemeal fashion, with those in formerly opposition-held neighborhoods in the east and Kurdish-majority, semi-autonomous neighborhoods in the north complaining of neglect by the central government in Damascus.

Other residents complain that Iran-backed, pro-government militias have monopolized aid and the entire reconstruction process.

Further complicating reconstruction in both Aleppo and Mosul are claims that many of the UN’s damage assessments are carried out only on buildings of cultural or historical significance rather than on housing and residential infrastructure.

This has meant that while massive UNESCO projects and promises of donations to rebuild historic districts are well-meaning, they often neglect the real needs of civilians on the ground.




A fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) flashes the victory gesture as he stands guard with his comrades on a rooftop in Raqqa on October 20, 2017, after retaking the city from Daesh fighters. (AFP)

Raqqa, meanwhile, under the US-backed Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, has enjoyed relative stability and security since its liberation, which has helped its reconstruction.

With the assistance of the local administration and international humanitarian organizations, more than 400 of the city’s 528 schools have been entirely or partially rebuilt, and 90 percent of the city’s water network has been repaired, according to information provided to Arab News by Abdul Salam Hamsork, vice president of Raqqa’s Executive Council.

Gaza has not had the chance to enjoy any such stability, having been subjected to multiple, intense military campaigns in recent decades. 




A boy walks past the rubble of destroyed houses in the war-ravaged old part of Iraq’s northern city Mosul, a site heavily damaged by Daesh fighters in the 2017 battle for the city, on April 21, 2021. (AFP)

While previous reconstructions of civilian homes and infrastructure were carried out by the International Relief Agency and the UN Development Program, the conflict that began on Oct. 7 is unprecedented in its scale, Dr. Saleh Abdel Aty, a Palestinian lawyer, researcher and human rights activist, told Arab News.

“During this ongoing aggression, the occupation forces destroyed 60 percent of the housing units, completely or partially destroying approximately 250,000 housing units, in addition to the destruction that occurred to buildings, infrastructure, service facilities, factories, farms and shops,” he said.

“Reconstruction is possible, of course, but it requires an international conference to end the siege and agree on an international vision to end the occupation and prevent it from controlling the reconstruction process.”

GAZA DAMAGE IN NUMBERS

  • 41k Housing units destroyed and 222k damaged as of Nov. 15 — 45 percent of the total. (OCHA)
  • 279 Educational facilities damaged as of Nov. 15 — more than 51 percent of the total. (OCHA)
  • 9 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals left partially functioning as of Nov. 16. (Ministry of Health)
  • 70 percent People in southern Gaza with no access to clean water as of Nov. 16. (UNRWA)

For many Palestinians still living under the threat of bombardment and displacement, talk of rebuilding now is premature. After decades of siege and military onslaught, hopelessness is an overriding feeling among Gazans.

“It is way too early to talk about reconstruction when the Israeli war continues with no end in sight,” Osama Al-Sharif, a journalist and political commentator based in Amman, told Arab News.

“The true objectives of Israel’s aggression remain unclear. What is obvious is that Israel is trying to make most of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, a buffer zone. It is applying a scorched-earth policy by carrying out deliberate mass destruction of that part. Gazans may never be allowed to return to the north, which has been turned into a wasteland.”

The destruction of Gaza also opens up a worrying possibility — the return of settlements. In 2005, as part of the Israeli disengagement in the enclave, more than 20 Israeli settlements inside Gaza were dismantled and both Israeli settlers and military forces withdrew from the area.




This combination of handout satellite images released by Maxar Technology and created on November 1, 2023, shows (L) an overview of the Jabalia refugee camp on October 31, 2023 and the destruction in the same camp after it was hit by an Israeli strike. (AFP)

Although Israel has not made any statements or endorsed the return of settlers, two weeks ago several former Gaza settlers who spoke to Voice of America expressed their desire to return to their former settlements after hostilities end.

With a temporary ceasefire as part of the hostage exchange deal now on the cards, there is a glimmer of hope for a sustained end to the fighting, or at the very least a window of opportunity to deliver vital aid to Gaza’s stricken population.

But until sustained peace is guaranteed, there is little appetite to support major reconstruction in Gaza if those buildings will only be flattened again in the next round of violence.

Indeed, as long as the region lives under the shadow of armed groups and the cloud of a potentially wider regional war, it may be impossible to get funds for reconstruction.

“Either reconstruction won’t happen at all due to a lack of resources, intense security and political fragmentation, or it will become a continuation of conflict by other means involving local and outside contenders,” Amr Adly, Muhammad Alaraby and Ibrahim Awad said in a jointly written essay from 2021 for the Carnegie Middle East Center on the topic of postwar reconstruction in the region.




Israeli flags stand on the top of destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. (AP)

The lack of a guarantee that future conflicts will not ravage cities is one of the main obstacles to progress in many destroyed cities around the world.

Most Syrian political entities insist that the implementation of UN Resolution 2254 of 2015, which calls for a political settlement in Syria, is a prerequisite for any sort of reconstruction, rebuilding or return of refugees.

“For Gaza not to be destroyed, the very reason why resistance exists in the first place would have to be removed altogether — and that is the freedom of the Palestinian people,” Palestinian author and commentator Ramzy Baroud told Arab News.

“Construction must also be linked to another process: that of protecting Gaza from future Israeli wars and subsequent destruction.”

Baroud cautions that reconstruction efforts must not be politicized.

“Israel, the US and their Western allies must not be allowed to link the reconstruction of Gaza to their own political agendas against Hamas, the Islamic Jihad or any other Palestinian group,” he said, adding that “those who have lost everything are ordinary people who are victims of Israeli war crimes.”




Palestinians bury bodies in a mass grave in Khan Yunis cemetery, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023. (AFP)

Removing political agendas from any potential rebuilding may prove exceedingly difficult, particularly given that all aid and equipment must first travel through Israeli territory to reach Gaza. A long embargo on cement imports has slowed past repair and reconstruction work.

As Israel also has a track record of carrying out punitive demolitions of the homes of family members of Palestinian militants, it is unclear whether the country’s increasingly right-wing government would be willing to contribute to, or even tolerate, reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

“Theoretically, reconstruction is not an issue if the aggression stops and international aid flows in,” said Amman-based commentator Al-Sharif. “Western and Arab countries will contribute to a reconstruction plan, which may take years to accomplish.”

The costs associated with any potential reconstruction have yet to be assessed, but will surely be massive. For reference, the UN stated in 2017 that the reconstruction of Mosul’s basic infrastructure would cost $1 billion.

The UN said in October this year that even prior to the current war, Gaza was already in need of billions of dollars’ worth of aid, with the region suffering from one of the highest unemployment rates in the world and a 64 percent food insecurity rate.

Reconstruction and development work also needs donors, at a time when funds for Gaza have already been on the decline. From 2008 to 2022, aid provided to Gaza slipped from $2 billion to $500 million.




Palestinians check the rubble following Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023. (AFP)

How Gaza’s reconstruction could be paid for is a source of some dispute. One idea that has been floated is the development of the Gaza Marine offshore gas field, located 36 km off the coast in the Mediterranean Sea.

Amos Hochstein, the US special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, traveled to Israel on Monday in a move that could boost prospects for Gaza to develop its offshore gas reserves after the war.

“We shouldn’t exaggerate its potential, but it can absolutely be a revenue stream for a Palestinian government, and to ensure there is an independent energy system for Palestine,” Hochstein said in an interview on Sunday. 

Even if all political, access, material and financial hurdles are somehow overcome, cities such as Aleppo, Raqqa and Mosul show that progress can still be slow.

Despite the passage of six years or more, vast swathes of these cities remain depopulated and in ruins — testament to the immense challenge of rebuilding after the guns and bombs fall silent.

 


UAE, Turkish presidents reaffirm support for regional stability

Updated 5 min 35 sec ago
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UAE, Turkish presidents reaffirm support for regional stability

  • Al-Nahyan, Erdogan discuss regional, international issues in phone call
  • Talks reflect strong ties between Ankara, Abu Dhabi

LONDON: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan discussed recent developments in the Middle East with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Sunday.

During a telephone call the leaders emphasized their countries’ commitment to supporting all efforts that promote peace and stability in the region, the Emirates News Agency reported.

They emphasized the need for improved coordination to tackle regional crises through dialogue and diplomacy, which they said was essential for achieving lasting peace and stability.

The call reflects the close ties and economic partnership between Ankara and Abu Dhabi and strong cooperation in various sectors.


Syrian Kurdish authorities reiterate call for autonomy after Damascus meeting

Updated 7 sec ago
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Syrian Kurdish authorities reiterate call for autonomy after Damascus meeting

  • The Kurdish administration said Syrians ‘have suffered for decades from a centralized’ regime and called for a decentralized and democratic system
  • The Kurds control vast swathes of territory in Syria’s north, including oil and gas fields

DAMASCUS: Syria’s Kurdish authorities called again on Sunday for a system of government that preserves a measure of their de facto autonomy, days after Damascus rejected “any form” of decentralization.
Mazloum Abdi of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — the Kurdish administration’s de facto army — and interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa first struck an accord in March to integrate Kurdish institutions into the state, but its implementation has been held up by differences between the two parties.
The pair met again on Wednesday in the presence of a US envoy to discuss the stalled efforts, but Damascus afterwards reiterated its opposition to “any form of division or federalization,” and called for SDF fighters to be absorbed into the army.
In a statement Sunday, the Kurdish administration called “for a pluralistic democratic system, social justice, gender equality, and a constitution that guarantees the rights of all components” of society.
“Syrians have suffered for decades from a centralized system that monopolized power and wealth, suppressed local will, and dragged the country into successive crises,” it said.
“Today, we aspire to be effective partners in building a new Syria, a decentralized Syria that embraces all its people and guarantees their rights equally.”
The Kurds control vast swathes of territory in Syria’s north, including oil and gas fields.
Kurdish forces, with the support of a Washington-led coalition, played a vital role in the fight against the Daesh group in Syria, which ultimately led to the jihadist group’s territorial defeat.
In an interview with the channel Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday, US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said that while he recognized the SDF’s role in the fight against the IS group, it had to accept the “reality” that “the only future path for them is Damascus.”


Clashes in predominantly Druze Syrian city kill 18: monitor

Members of Syria’s security forces deploy in an area near the Syrian capital Damascus. (File/AFP)
Updated 39 min 6 sec ago
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Clashes in predominantly Druze Syrian city kill 18: monitor

  • Sweida Governor Mustapha Al-Bakur called on his constituents to ‘exercise self-restraint and respond to national calls for reform’
  • Syria’s Druze population numbers around 700,000, with Sweida home to the sect’s largest community

DAMASCUS: Clashes between Bedouin tribes and local fighters in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida in southern Syria killed 18 people, a war monitor said Sunday, as authorities sent forces to de-escalate the situation.
The clashes are the first outbreak of deadly violence in the area since fighting between members of the Druze community and the security forces killed dozens of people in April and May.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 18 people had been killed, 14 of them Druze including a child and four of them Bedouin.
Local outlet Sweida 24 gave a preliminary toll of 10 people killed and 50 wounded across both sides. The outlet also reported the closure of the Damascus-Sweida highway due to the violence.
A Syrian government source, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to brief the media, told AFP that authorities were sending forces to de-escalate the situation.
Sweida Governor Mustapha Al-Bakur called on his constituents to “exercise self-restraint and respond to national calls for reform.”
Syria’s Druze population numbers around 700,000, with Sweida home to the sect’s largest community.
Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Sweida, with violence occasionally erupting between the two.
Since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad, concerns have been raised over the rights and safety of minorities under the new authorities, who have also struggled to re-establish security more broadly.
Clashes between the new security forces and Druze fighters in April and May killed dozens of people, with local leaders and religious figures signing agreements to contain the escalation and better integrate Druze fighters into the new government.


Dubai Police extradite three Interpol most-wanted suspects to Belgium

Updated 13 July 2025
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Dubai Police extradite three Interpol most-wanted suspects to Belgium

  • The three Belgian nationals, Mathias Akyazili, Giorgi Faes, and Othman El-Ballouti, were apprehended in Dubai

DUBAI: Dubai Police have arrested and extradited three high-profile suspects wanted by Belgian authorities in connection with serious cases of cross-border organized crime, following a coordinated international effort involving Interpol and Europol, it was announced on Sunday.

The three Belgian nationals, Mathias Akyazili, Giorgi Faes, and Othman El-Ballouti, were apprehended in Dubai after Interpol red notices were issued against them, the Emirates News Agency reported.

All three were listed as most-wanted individuals by Interpol and Europol.

The suspects face multiple serious charges in Belgium, including operating a notorious gang, trafficking narcotic and psychotropic substances, robbery, and human trafficking.

The operation was led by Dubai Police’s General Department of Criminal Investigation in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Interior, WAM added.

“Such coordinated efforts support the strengthening of a strong global security framework that confronts criminal activity with full force while promoting the exchange of international expertise and best practices in policing,” a Dubai Police spokesperson said.

It followed international arrest warrants submitted by Belgian authorities to the International Cooperation Department at the UAE Ministry of Justice, the designated central authority for handling such requests.

The transfer was authorized by the Dubai Court of Cassation, in accordance with bilateral agreements between the UAE and Belgium.

Upon the suspects’ arrival in Belgium on July 13, Abdullah bin Sultan Al-Nuaimi, UAE minister of justice, and his Belgian counterpart Annelies Verlinden held a phone call to discuss the extradition.

During the call, both ministers emphasized that the successful operation reflected a shared commitment to the rule of law, international judicial cooperation, and combating transnational organized crime and drugs-related violence, WAM reported.

Verlinden thanked UAE authorities for their support, adding that the extraditions were “a testament to the deepening legal partnership between the UAE and Belgium” and “to their shared determination to ensure that individuals accused of serious crimes are brought to justice.”

She commended the role of the UAE’s judicial and law enforcement institutions throughout the extradition process and also praised the emirates’ ongoing cooperation in line with the extradition treaties signed between the two countries in December 2021, which came into force in November 2022.

Al-Nuaimi reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to enhancing bilateral judicial collaboration and also stressed the importance of international cooperation in tackling global crime and ensuring justice through strong legal frameworks.


Israeli missile hits Gaza children collecting water

A Palestinian boy bids farewell to his cousin Saraj Ibrahim, after he was killed in an Israeli strike that hit Nuseirat.
Updated 13 July 2025
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Israeli missile hits Gaza children collecting water

  • The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others
  • Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil

JERUSALEM: At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said, in an Israeli strike which the military said missed its target.
The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall “dozens of meters from the target.”
“The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians,” it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.
The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.
Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.
Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally, but says over half of those killed are women and children.
Talks stalled
Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend.
The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands — releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.
Netanyahu was expected to convene ministers later on Sunday to discuss the ceasefire talks.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages there are believed to still be alive.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas has displaced almost the entire population of more than 2 million people, but Gazans say nowhere is safe in the coastal enclave.
Early on Sunday morning, a missile hit a house in Gaza City where a family had moved to after receiving an evacuation order from their home in the southern outskirts.
“My aunt, her husband and the children, are gone. What is the fault of the children who died in an ugly bloody massacre at dawn?” said Anas Matar, standing in the rubble of the building.
“They came here, and they were hit. There is no safe place in Gaza,” he said.