In his speech at an Egyptian army symposium commemorating the October 6 War anniversary, Sisi announced that "Egypt will host an international conference to rebuild the Gaza Strip next November," according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.
He also called on the Egyptian people to actively contribute to reconstruction efforts, as an expression of solidarity, responsibility, and love for their Palestinian brothers, according to the statement.
Sisi tasked Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly with coordinating with civil society organizations and relevant state agencies to study the establishment of a national mechanism to collect citizens' contributions and donations to finance the reconstruction process.
Palestinian-led reconstruction
For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa said on Sunday that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip must be Palestinian-led and supported by Arab and international partners.
This came during his meeting in Ramallah with the Private Sector Coordination Council, whose members from the Gaza Strip participated via videoconference, and in the presence of a number of ministers, according to a statement from his office, a copy of which was received by Anadolu Agency.
Mustafa added, "Work is underway with our Egyptian brothers to complete preparations for the donors' conference, scheduled to be held next month in Cairo.
Egypt is seeking to implement a plan adopted by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation last March to rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinians. The plan, which will take five years and cost approximately $53 billion, will be implemented.
Mustafa emphasized that "reconstruction must be Palestinian-led, with Arab and international support," and emphasized the need for national consensus "aimed at serving the public interest and attracting international support.
He added that "the administration of Gaza and the administrative arrangements will be built on national and professional foundations and strong and unified national institutions," emphasizing the "important and pivotal" role of the Palestinian private sector in the recovery and reconstruction phase of the Gaza Strip
The United Nations estimates the cost of rebuilding Gaza at approximately $70 billion, due to the repercussions of two years of Israeli war of extermination, supported by the United States.
In addition to the massive material destruction, Israel has killed 68,159 martyrs and wounded 170,203 people in its war of extermination in Gaza since October 8, 2023, over the course of two years, most of them children and women. A famine has also claimed the lives of 463 Palestinians, including 157 children.
On October 9, Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement based on a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. The first phase of the agreement entered into force the following day.
On Thursday, the Gaza government declared the Strip an "environmentally and structurally disaster zone" as a result of the Israeli genocide, which left behind approximately 70 million tons of rubble and nearly 20,000 unexploded shells and missiles that pose a constant threat to civilians.
