What Jared Kushner's 'New Gaza' plan includes, and what it leaves out

""We've already started removing the rubble and doing some of the demolition," Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, said while presenting the plan recently in Davos, Switzerland. "And then 'New Gaza.' It could be a hope, it could be a destination, have a lot of industry and really be a place that the people there can thrive, have great employment," he said."

"The Gaza Strip is only 25 miles long and about 4 to 7 miles wide. It was home to around 2.2 million people before the war, all living in densely packed cities and refugee camps. Now, nearly everyone lives in makeshift tents or bombed-out homes that are at risk of collapse. The World Bank estimated in 2024 the cost of damage to critical infrastructure alone was more than $18 billion."

"Reconstruction would only commence in areas of Gaza where Hamas is fully disarmed, or already emptied of Palestinians and under Israeli military control. This "New Gaza" plan, however, makes no reference to land deed transfers nor how new housing would be allocated to Palestinians. It also does not say how families will be uprooted from existing buildings that the plan would demolish, particularly in central Gaza and parts of western Gaza City where many buildings are still intact."

A vision called 'New Gaza' proposes loft-style apartments, an off-shore oil rig, advanced industrial zones and park-lined neighborhoods built after two years of war. Jared Kushner said demolition and rubble removal has begun and portrayed the project as a destination with industry and employment for residents. Gaza, 25 miles long and 4 to 7 miles wide, had around 2.2 million residents before the war and now most live in tents or bombed-out homes at risk of collapse. The World Bank estimated more than $18 billion in damage to critical infrastructure in 2024. The plan depends on a ceasefire deal requiring Hamas to decommission weapons and conditions reconstruction on areas where Hamas is disarmed or areas emptied and under Israeli military control. The proposal makes no reference to land deed transfers or how new housing would be allocated and does not explain how families would be uprooted from buildings scheduled for demolition. Critics say the proposal erases Gaza and treats the territory as an investment opportunity atop its ruins.

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