Hamas has said the Israeli “occupation” must shoulder the cost of rebuilding Gaza after the devastation of years of conflict, a demand that adds a contentious layer to already fraught international discussions about reconstruction funding and post-war governance. Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas political official, told Russian media that Israel should be held responsible for the destruction and therefore must pay for reconstruction—comments widely reported by regional news outlets.
IRNA English

The timing of the statement matters. International agencies and donor states are already wrestling with the scale and practicalities of rebuilding Gaza: U.N. and multilateral assessments put the likely bill at tens of billions of dollars, with recent U.N. briefings and World Bank figures estimating that recovery could require anywhere from roughly $50–70 billion and take many years to complete. Those estimates have driven fast-moving diplomatic conversations about who will pay, who will supervise rebuilding, and what political conditions—especially on security and governance—will be attached to the funds.
Reuters
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Hamas’s insistence that Israel pay directly confronts several emerging ideas in international planning. Some proposals—backed by Western and Gulf diplomats—envisage a multilateral reconstruction mechanism, with Arab states, Western donors and international financial institutions providing the bulk of funding, often with strict oversight mechanisms to prevent resources being diverted to militant activity. Separate plans put forward by the Palestinian Authority and others envision Palestinian-led reconstruction programs that could attract large pledges if security arrangements allow. The Palestinian Authority, for example, has unveiled a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction plan which it says could mobilize private and public sector support.
Jerusalem Post

There are also thorny political obstacles. Israeli officials have been cautious about committing government funds to rebuild territory it considers a security threat unless Hamas is disarmed and long-term safeguards are in place; some Israeli ministers have suggested reconstruction should be led by Gulf states or other external partners rather than by Israel itself. That reticence complicates Hamas’s demand and raises the prospect of a protracted funding standoff, even if donors express willingness to help.
Reuters

Practical constraints make timely reconstruction even harder. Humanitarian agencies report that aid deliveries, heavy equipment and reconstruction materials continue to face bottlenecks and restrictions on the ground—conditions that slow immediate relief and will further impede large-scale rebuilding unless access is improved and guarantees for the safe movement of goods are implemented. Meanwhile, questions about who will supervise reconstruction, how to ensure transparency, and how to reconcile competing political claims over Gaza’s future remain unresolved.
Al Jazeera

Hamas’s public call for Israel to foot the bill is as much political as it is economic: it stakes a moral claim that the party it holds responsible for Gaza’s destruction should pay reparations, and it signals that any reconstruction debate will be inseparable from the larger conflict over sovereignty, security and political legitimacy. Whether that position will translate into concrete leverage at international donor tables is uncertain—donors, regional powers and international institutions will now have to weigh competing demands, security concerns, and the urgent humanitarian reality on the ground as they shape any rebuilding effort.