What Jared Kushner’s ‘New Gaza’ plan contains, and what it leaves out

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Loft-style flats with floor-to-ceiling home windows, an off-shore oil and gasoline rig, superior industrial zones and park-lined neighborhoods. That is “New Gaza,” a imaginative and prescient laid out by the Trump administration for the destroyed Palestinian territory after two years of battle.

“We’ve already started removing the rubble and doing some of the demolition,” Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, stated whereas presenting the plan just lately 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 stated.

The Gaza Strip is just 25 miles lengthy and about 4 to 7 miles huge. It was residence to round 2.2 million individuals earlier than the battle, all residing in densely packed cities and refugee camps. Now, practically everybody lives in makeshift tents or bombed-out houses which can be prone to collapse. The World Financial institution estimated in 2024 the price of injury to vital infrastructure alone was greater than $18 billion.

The plan laid out by Kushner rests on Trump’s ceasefire deal, which calls for that Hamas decommission its weapons as Israel withdraws from Gaza in phases. Reconstruction would solely begin in areas of Gaza the place Hamas is totally disarmed, or already emptied of Palestinians and underneath Israeli navy management.

This “New Gaza” plan, nonetheless, makes no reference to land deed transfers nor how new housing could be allotted to Palestinians. It additionally doesn’t say how households will likely be uprooted from present buildings that the plan would demolish, notably in central Gaza and elements of western Gaza Metropolis the place many buildings are nonetheless intact.

Critics, together with individuals NPR interviewed in Gaza, say it erases Gaza completely and turns it into an funding alternative atop the ruins of what a U.N. fee decided was a genocide dedicated by Israel. Israel denies the allegation, and is preventing battle crimes prices internationally.

It is unclear if any Palestinians had been consulted within the “New Gaza” imaginative and prescient unveiled by Kushner, however he says Israeli actual property investor, Yakir Gabay, performed a key position in crafting the plan. Each males are on the White Home-appointed Gaza Govt Board that can oversee the plan and report back to Trump’s Board of Peace.

Listed here are 5 issues to know concerning the “New Gaza”:

1. Much less area for housing than earlier than the battle

Kushner’s plan envisions 4 district-like areas for Palestinians to dwell in, nestled between massive inexperienced areas for parks and industrial zones that seem equal in measurement or bigger than the areas designated for housing. These industrial zones would create greater than half 1,000,000 jobs for Palestinians in Gaza, in line with the plan.

A report printed by the U.N.-Habitat company in 2024 stated 87% of Gaza was city space and practically all the remaining was refugee camps, describing the territory as “fully urbanized.”

Which means the plan leaves far much less room for Palestinian housing than existed earlier than the battle, suggesting a smaller inhabitants in Gaza.

NPR requested the White Home-appointed Gaza Govt Board whether or not the plan takes into consideration the complete inhabitants of Gaza. A spokesperson, who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate particulars of the plans, stated the figures offered for the primary section of reconstruction are “just the start,” with out elaborating.

2. Reshaped cities with some now not present

The plan lays out phases for rebuilding, beginning with the south. Two areas labeled as “Gaza City” to the north could be constructed within the final, fourth section.

Gaza’s residential areas could be divided into quadrants, labeled as Rafah, Khan Younis, Heart Camps and Gaza Metropolis. They might be disconnected from each other, and divided by massive inexperienced areas designated for parks, agriculture and sports activities services. Only some major roads join them.

The plan would erase northern Gaza cities and refugee camps like Beit Lahia and Jabalia, changing them with agricultural areas and zones designated for knowledge facilities and superior manufacturing. It could raze different elements of Gaza to the bottom to be rebuilt.

“You’re going to remove people’s homes and put parks instead, but did you ask a single person in Gaza to do this?” stated Rami Abdel-Aal, a resident of Gaza whose residence in Rafah was demolished in an space now occupied by the Israeli navy that is being razed to construct the primary such neighborhood.

“We only want one thing: Leave us to rebuild,” he stated. “We don’t want anything from you. Just leave us to rebuild.”

3. A brand new airport, however no unbiased land crossing 

Within the imaginative and prescient laid out by Kushner, southern Gaza would have an airport, a prepare and logistics hub, and a port — all nonexistent in the mean time.

Gaza has been besieged by Israel since Hamas took over rule of the territory in 2007. Individuals can solely exit or enter Gaza by land with Israeli approvals by way of border crossings Israel controls.

However underneath the plan, Gaza’s single border crossing with Egypt, generally known as the Rafah crossing, would now not be geographically distant from Israel. It could be moved south to the tip of Gaza and renamed a “trilateral crossing,” touching each Egypt and Israel.

Egypt has not commented on the plan, and all through the battle has rejected Israeli management of Rafah.

4. A “New Rafah” as the middle of gravity 

Gaza’s southernmost metropolis of Rafah had lengthy been a quiet border city identified principally for its smuggling tunnels with Egypt, however Kushner’s plan envisions the town as Gaza’s logistics and probably administrative hub.

Rafah, at present, is sort of void of residents and underneath Israeli navy occupation. Palestinian militias armed by Israel and against Hamas function within the space.

Below the “New Gaza” plan, Rafah has among the many most housing of all of the areas in Gaza, suggesting the inhabitants, which earlier than the battle was closely within the north close to Israel, could be pushed south.

Described as “New Rafah,” there could be 100,000-plus everlasting housing models, in line with Kushner’s plan. Previous to the battle, all of Gaza had practically 600,000 flats and housing models for two.2 million individuals, in line with the U.N.-Habitat report. It famous a vital housing scarcity even earlier than Israeli assaults destroyed or broken greater than 90% of houses.

The brand new plan additionally says there will likely be some 200 academic facilities in “New Rafah.” Earlier than the battle, Gaza had round 700 colleges, together with non-public, public and U.N.-school buildings, in line with figures obtained by NPR from the U.N. aid company for Palestinians, generally known as UNRWA, and the Palestinian Training Ministry. As well as, there have been 17 increased schooling establishments, or universities.

An Israeli official advised NPR the bottom in Rafah is being ready to be cleared of unexploded ordnance and tunnels in an effort to arrange short-term housing. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to debate particulars of the preparations. The official stated that Kushner and U.S. particular envoy Steve Witkoff have requested Israel to speed up operations clearing rubble in Rafah, the place a neighborhood funded by the United Arab Emirates could be constructed to deal with hundreds of civilians from Gaza.

The UAE’s authorities didn’t reply to a request for remark.

5. A shoreline for vacationers and traders

The whole lot of Gaza’s Mediterranean shoreline is designated underneath the plan as an space for “coastal tourism” with 180 “mixed use” towers.

The visuals for the plan are stark, and look nothing like Gaza. Futuristic towers would type a brand new skyline alongside Gaza’s coast, resembling a billionaire’s playground very like Dubai.

Palestinian residents of Gaza would possible be priced out of this prime, new actual property. Gaza’s shoreline earlier than the battle included house buildings, native lodges, cafes and public seashores. These seashores are individuals’s solely escape from Gaza’s in any other case densely packed terrain.

Anas Baba in Gaza Metropolis, Ahmed Abuhamda in Cairo and Itay Stern and Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.