Trump's Envoy: Rebuilding Gaza Could Take 10-15 Years

Palestinians walk among the rubble of destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 30 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians walk among the rubble of destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 30 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Trump's Envoy: Rebuilding Gaza Could Take 10-15 Years

Palestinians walk among the rubble of destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 30 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians walk among the rubble of destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 30 January 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

There is "almost nothing left" of Gaza and rebuilding the enclave could take 10 to 15 years, US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios in an interview at the end of his trip to the region on Thursday.
"People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave ... there is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there," Witkoff told Axios.

Witkoff left Israel on Thursday several hours after Hamas released another eight hostages who were being held in Gaza and Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal.

The White House envoy spent much of his day on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip inspecting the situation from the ground and from the air. He was the first US official to visit Gaza in 15 years.



Yemen's Houthis Launched Missile at US Fighter Jet, Missed

Houthi militants stormed the Greek tanker "Sunion" and rigged its deck with explosives before blowing it up (EPA)
Houthi militants stormed the Greek tanker "Sunion" and rigged its deck with explosives before blowing it up (EPA)
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Yemen's Houthis Launched Missile at US Fighter Jet, Missed

Houthi militants stormed the Greek tanker "Sunion" and rigged its deck with explosives before blowing it up (EPA)
Houthi militants stormed the Greek tanker "Sunion" and rigged its deck with explosives before blowing it up (EPA)

Yemen's Houthis launched surface-to-air missiles at an American fighter jet and MQ-9 Reaper drone this week, but did not hit either, two US officials told Reuters.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not specify if the attacks occurred over the Red Sea or Yemen itself.

One said the incidents could suggest the Houthis were improving their targeting capabilities.

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, who leads the Iran-backed group, said in a televised speech on Feb. 13 that the Houthis would intervene with missiles and drones and attack vessels in the Red Sea if the United States and Israel tried to remove Palestinians from Gaza by force.

An Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect in Gaza on January 19 but has appeared close to collapse recently amid mutual accusations of violations.

US President Donald Trump has infuriated the Arab world with a plan to permanently displace Palestinians from Gaza and take over the enclave to turn it into a beach resort.

The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships off Yemen since November 2023 in support of Gaza's Palestinian militants fighting Israel, disrupting global shipping.