UAE transfers $100 million for new Gaza police force as UN estimates reconstruction requires $71 billion

The United Arab Emirates this week transferred $100 million intended for training a new police force in the Gaza Strip to the Board of Peace (BoP), according to The Times of Israel.

The report, which came shortly after a new damage and needs assessment by the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union, stated that reconstructing the devastated Gaza Strip will cost at least $71 billion over five years.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground remains unchanged, with Israel now controlling some 59% of the enclave and continuing to demolish terror infrastructure while Hamas reasserts its control over the rest.

This week, Army Radio said senior officials in the Israeli military are pushing the government to resume fighting in the Gaza Strip, citing that Hamas leadership continues to reject offers to negotiate an end to the war, including its disarmament, by the U.S.-led Board of Peace (BoP).

Approximately three months after its establishment, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) has still not entered Gaza, while key institutions, such as a new police force and a global military force, referred to as the International Stabilization Force (ISF), remain largely theoretical.

However, the UAE’s transfer of funds is the largest yet, and will be used for training the new Palestinian police force, a U.S. official and a Middle East diplomat told The Times of Israel (TOI) this week.

The BoP said it received $17 billion in pledges for Gaza relief and reconstruction at a donor conference hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump in February, but so far only the UAE and Morocco have followed through, meaning less than 1% of the total has been received to date.

In addition to the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait each pledged at least $1 billion, while the U.S. promised to contribute $10 billion.

Over the past several weeks, the BoP has focused on receiving a firm commitment from Hamas to lay down its weapons before moving forward with other steps. TOI reported this week that the BoP will not pressure Israel to adhere to the ceasefire terms if Hamas doesn’t accept its framework to disarm.

The NCAG began recruiting new police in February and has received several thousand applications so far, according to BoP High Representative Nickolay Mladenov.

While the training will reportedly be held in Egypt and Jordan, an Emirati security firm will reportedly lead the establishment of the force, which is planned to include around 27,000 officers, a U.S. official and a Middle East diplomat told TOI.

The April report released by the World Bank, the UN and the EU assessed that Israel's war against Hamas has led to an estimated at $35.2 billion in physical damage and $22.7 billion in economic losses, bringing the total estimated impact of the conflict on physical assets to $57.9 billion. Recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated at approximately $71.4 billion.

“The highest recovery and reconstruction needs are in the housing sector (US$16.2 billion), followed by agriculture and food system (US$10.5 billion), health (US$10 billion), and commerce and industry (US$9 billion), together accounting for 64% of total reconstruction needs, and represent the most urgent priorities,” the report stated.

However, the fighting doesn’t appear to be over yet, as IDF troops continue locating Hamas infrastructure embedded in civilian areas under Israeli control, whose demolition sometimes necessitates the destruction of nearby civilian buildings.

On Friday, the IDF reported that reserve troops of the Negev Brigade recently completed a months-long deployment, dismantling eight underground tunnel routes spanning more than 2.5 kilometers in total.

“One of the tunnel routes was part of the underground terrorist infrastructure network in eastern Rafah, where Hamas terrorists had been operating in recent months and were struck and eliminated during an engineering activity conducted by the troops inside the tunnel,” the military reported.

“IDF troops under the Southern Command remain deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire framework and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.”