Qatar, UN quietly rehabilitating Gaza Strip – without Hamas disarmament

As Board of Peace’s Gaza plan flounders, Qatar and the United Nations are already working to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip – despite Hamas refusing to disarm.

By World Israel News Staff

Work has already begun to rehabilitate the war-torn Gaza Strip, Israel Hayom reported on Monday, despite Hamas’ ongoing refusal to hand over its arsenal.

Citing video footage filmed in Gaza, the report said that preliminary reconstruction activity has begun in parts of the Gaza Strip under a plan backed by Qatar and the United Nations, even as the US-backed Board of Peace’s Gaza plan remains in limbo.

The move marks a tentative shift from emergency relief toward early rebuilding, but it comes with major political conditions unresolved. Hamas has continued to reject calls to give up its weapons without firm guarantees of a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a position that has become the central obstacle in current talks.

Despite the impasse over disarmament, the UN and Qatar are aiding the rehabilitation work, including clearing debris, repairing damaged roads, and removing unstable blocks from buildings.

Under the broader US-backed framework, Gaza’s reconstruction is supposed to proceed alongside a transfer of governance to a new Palestinian administrative structure and the deployment of international mechanisms to oversee security and aid.

Reuters reported in January that Washington launched the plan’s second phase despite incomplete implementation of the first, signaling an effort to move the process forward even before all battlefield and political disputes were resolved.

But Hamas has shown little sign of yielding on the issue of disarmament. Over the weekend, Saudi media reported that a Hamas delegation visiting Egypt issued new demands, while emphasizing that the terror group will not discuss terms for disarmament until a broader deal ensuring a permanent end to the war is drafted.

That leaves reconstruction advancing, at least in limited form, in a highly uncertain environment.

Along with debris removal, the work has also included the drilling and maintenance of water wells, with a Qatari committee overseeing the work.

In the southern Gaza Strip, the United Nations has funded the paving of roads, with other roadwork funded by the Malaysian Muslim Foundation.