Arab leaders unanimously agree on a five-year $53bn plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinians, to counter US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over” the coastal enclave.

Israel, which is maintaining a blockade on all food, medicine and aid into Gaza, slams the proposal, while the White House says Trump stands by his vision for the Strip.

Hamas says it appreciates the Egypt-led proposal and welcomes calls to hold legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed 48,388 Palestinian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza while 111,803 people have been wounded.

The Government Media Office updated its death toll to at least 61,709, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.

After 16 months of war, the majority of Gaza’s infrastructure has been damaged or wrecked, satellite imagery shows.

The worst of the devastation is in Gaza City and northern Gaza, where three quarters of all buildings are destroyed. But even in Rafah, previously declared a safe zone by Israel, 48 percent of buildings are damaged.
On Tuesday, Arab leaders unanimously agree on a five-year $53bn plan to rebuild Gaza. But the United States and Israel rejected the Egypt-led plan, which counters US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over” the coastal enclave and displace its Palestinian residents.