Egypt proposes a $53 billion plan to rebuild Gaza, countering Trump's controversial resettlement proposal, while the UN backs the initiative amid ongoing Israel-Hamas tensions.

Egypt has proposed a plan for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip at an emergency summit in Cairo. The five-year plan to rebuild Gaza will cost $53 billion (€50.5 billion), according to draft documents, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi saying the proposal would allow Palestinians to "remain on their land."

The proposal was presented to Arab League leaders on Tuesday before President Sisi announced he would be hosting a conference for Gaza reconstruction next month. President Sisi said an 'independent' Palestinian body could manage Gaza under the reconstruction plan, which envisages an initial six-month recovery phase focusing on removing rubble and installing temporary housing at a cost of around $3 billion.

In a first phase proper, the plan calls for the building of 200,000 housing units in Gaza over the next two years. A second stage will see 200,000 more housing units. By 2030, the plan foresees hundreds of thousands of new homes housing up to 3 million people, as well as an airport, industrial zones, hotels, and parks.

Speaking at the Cairo summit, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he "strongly endorsed" the Arab-led initiative and also called for the resumption "without delay" of negotiations on continuing a ceasefire in Gaza.

Ahead of Tuesday's Arab League summit, Israel demanded the "full demilitarization" of Gaza—a move that Hamas called disarmament and therefore a "red line." Talks on phase two of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire to release all hostages and for Israel to withdraw its troops have hit an impasse.

The plans discussed in Tuesday's summit are meant to counter US President Donald Trump's controversial pledge to own Gaza and redevelop it after "resettling" some two million Palestinian people to Arab countries. Trump had uploaded an artificial intelligence video of turning war-torn Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East," a plan lauded as "visionary and innovative” by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and one that sparked outrage across the Middle East and other nations.

Nevertheless, Egyptian President al-Sisi insisted that President Trump could still achieve peace on what he referred to as the Palestinian issue.

In Gaza itself, the Palestinian militant group Hamas said in a statement: "We look forward to an effective Arab role that ends the humanitarian tragedy created by the occupation in the Gaza Strip ... and thwarts the [Israeli] occupation's plans to displace [Palestinians]."

While the full extent of the damage will only be known once inspectors have full access to the territory, the UN estimated using satellite data that nearly 70% of all structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. This includes over 245,000 homes. Another UN estimate says that the war has littered Gaza with over 50 million tons of rubble—roughly 12 times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa also attended the summit, his first such meeting since ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad nearly three months ago. Sharaa has called Trump's proposals "a very huge crime that cannot happen."