Hamas welcomes Arab-adopted Egyptian Gaza reconstruction plan but Israel, US stick to Trump proposal

CAIRO – 5 March 2025: Hamas welcomed the plan presented by Egypt and adopted by the Arab leaders during an extraordinary summit on Tuesday for the reconstruction of Gaza, calling for providing all necessary components for its success.

In a Telegram statement, Hamas also commended Egypt's efforts in preparing for an international conference for Gaza reconstruction.

The $53 billion plan adopts a five-year timeframe for post-war Gaza, according to a document obtained by local and foreign media outlets.

Read full details about Egypt's plan for Gaza reconstruction, adopted by the Arab leaders on Tuesday, from here.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said during the extraordinary Arab summit in Egypt that the Palestinian Authority will reassume control over the Gaza Strip under the plan.

The Arab plan aims to provide an alternative to a proposal unveiled by US President Donald Trump in February to “take over” Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Trump’s proposal has brought Arab and global backlash when he stated during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US “will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too.”

Trump’s plan includes relocating residents outside their lands in the post-war phase, mainly to Egypt and Jordan, a suggestion repeatedly rejected by all Arab states.

The war in Gaza over the past nearly year and half has devastated more than 60 percent of homes and 65 percent of roads with roughly 51 million tons of rubble blanketing the enclave, according to UN estimates this week.

During his speech at the summit, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi underlined Egypt’s efforts to form “an administrative committee comprising Palestinian professionals and independent technocrats, entrusted with managing the Gaza Strip” after the war.

He added that this committee will be responsible for managing Gaza for a temporary period and supervising the relief process, in preparation for the return of the Palestinian Authority to the enclave.

The Egyptian reconstruction plan aims to make sure that Gaza residents remain on their lands while their homes and other facilities are being reconstructed.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced adopting the final statement of the Extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo, and the Egyptian plan for the reconstruction and development of the Gaza Strip#Egypt #Africa #MENAhttps://t.co/kWPVYYfRZk

— Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) March 5, 2025

However, Israel obviously rejects the plan, saying in a foreign ministry statement yesterday that it will not rely on the Palestinian Authority for governing Gaza.

The Israeli foreign ministry claims that the summit “fails to address the realities of the situation following October 7th, 2023, remaining rooted in outdated perspectives.”

Tel Aviv expressed adherence to Trump’s idea, claiming that it gives the opportunity for Gaza residents to “have free choice based on their free will.”

“This should be encouraged! Instead, Arab states have rejected this opportunity, without giving it a fair chance, and continue to level baseless accusations against Israel,” the Israeli ministry asserted.

In response to the Arab plan, the United States also said Trump “stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas.”

White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes claimed that the Arab plan fails to “address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance.”