In recent weeks, the framework proposed by diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, the High Representative for the Gaza Board of Peace, has made headlines. At the heart of the plan was a condition linking the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip to the start of a disarmament process by terrorist organizations, chiefly Hamas.
Hamas, predictably, rejected the move and attacked Mladenov. Eventually, however, the group told the mediators it would condition any agreement on the implementation of the ceasefire deal and, above all, on an Israeli withdrawal. In short, Hamas chose to sidestep a direct confrontation with the mediators. Meanwhile, on the ground in Qatar, the UN and other parties have been carrying out reconstruction work.
The work is partial, but it is taking place while Israel maintains its condition that terrorist organizations must lay down their arms before the Gaza Strip can be rebuilt. As the documentation shows, the reconstruction process has already begun in practice.
Video: Qatar's construction work in Gaza. Credit: Arab media
Videos released by the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza show that a series of projects are underway in Gaza City. In one video, the committee shows the removal of dangerous concrete blocks and debris on Al-Wahda Street – one of the city's main traffic arteries. The committee noted that the work included removing unstable blocks from central buildings, including Shawa and Khsri. All of this was carried out using light mechanical equipment. The road was subsequently opened to two-way traffic under the supervision of the committee's engineers and in coordination with the Gaza Municipality and the "Civil Defense apparatus" – bodies identified with Hamas rule.
This is one operation within a broader project led by the Qatari committee. According to the committee, the goal is to clear debris from more than 200 buildings across the Gaza Strip's districts, encompassing 750 residential units. The Qataris say the rubble poses a public safety hazard. The committee also noted that the project includes paving main roads and essential access routes around the buildings. As part of a separate project, the Qatari committee is building and maintaining more than 30 water wells across the Gaza Strip to ensure the population has access to water. The cost of that project, as we previously reported, exceeds $1 million.
Meanwhile, in the southern Gaza Strip, the town of al-Qarara in the Khan Yunis area has reported road paving activity. In early April, for example, photographs were published showing the leveling of Street 13D – also known as Mukhtar Faisal al-Ababdeh Street. According to the municipality, this is part of a debris management plan being implemented by the UN Development Program (UNDP). Last month, photographs were released showing roadwork on al-Tin Street in the al-Mawasi area, west of al-Qarara. That work was also carried out under the same UN program.
Even the Rafah Municipality reported on April 9 on debris clearance and roadwork across multiple sites and refugee camps. According to Rafah Municipality, the work was carried out with support from the "Malaysian Muslim Foundation." The same pattern held in the central Gaza Strip, where Nuseirat Municipality announced the paving of a street in the center of the Nuseirat refugee camp. The project included paving a 400-square-meter (4,305-square-foot) section of the road that serves a UNRWA clinic, a science college, a UNRWA food distribution center, and other facilities. Earlier this month, the same town announced the continuation of a project to clear debris and carry out work on the Fayid building.
