What we are losing in rebuilding Gaza.

By: Jake Boyette

Ever since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th 2023, the Gaza Strip has been under bombardment from airstrikes from Israeli forces. These strikes have led to Gaza being devastated, with 70 percent of all structures in Gaza being destroyed or damaged, according to Doctors Without Borders, leaving two million Gazans homeless.  

As ceasefire and peace talks come and go, peace between the countries means more than just an end to the conflict but a time to rebuild what was lost. 

While nothing is official about rebuilding Gaza, it hasn’t stopped multiple proposals from being put forth. However, the proposals show a deeper issue, perhaps forgetting about the people who live in Gaza. 

On Feb 4, 2025, while President Donald Trump was in a press conference with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, he suggested that “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it.” 

President Trump expanded on this suggestion on his Truth Social account, where he posted an A.I. video showing the ruins of Gaza turning into a tourist destination for the world to enjoy. A song plays in the background, announcing this future vision of Gaza as “Trump Gaza.” While the video turned out to be satire, according to The Guardian, some found the idea of reforming Gaza into a tourist destination appealing. 

“I honestly think it has a lot of potential. If Gaza looked like how Trump imagined it, it would be totally awesome. It would be awesome for the Palestinians, it would be awesome for the Israelis, we’d have a place to vacation and have fun. Thinking about it, it would boost both our economies and give the Gazans work instead of having to work for Hamas. They could actually get an education and world someplace legit.” Rotem Horowitz, a former Israeli soldier, told The Tacoma Ledger.  

The idea holds some merit. Removing Hamas as the government and creating an economy beneficial for both countries would be a positive move. However, the suggestion from President Trump also included that the 2.2 million Gazans would also be permanently removed for the rebuilding effort.  

President Trump tried to defend this suggestion, stating, “Gaza is not a place for people to be living, and the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative.” 

However, Gazans are not willing to be removed from their land. Many condemned the president for his take-over proposal, reported by The Washington Post. Alternative proposals were given to the Trump administration by the Arab League, a multi-phased plan that would allow Gazans to not be displaced, rebuilding housing, utilities and industrial zones back into Gaza, according to the Arab Center Washington DC. Israel and the U.S. rejected this plan, showing how the rebuilding efforts were not for the benefit of Gazan citizens. 

Even before the attack on Israel, the country occupied land in Palestinian territory, with Israeli real estate agencies selling off the land to housing developers for Israeli citizens. The United Nations declared this an illegal occupation and an act of “Settler-Colonialism.” However, illegal occupation is still happening to this day, with companies getting rich on Palestinian land.  

President Trump’s proposal echoes these occupations with the proposal to move Gazans out of their land for a profitable resort-type restoration. 

“ In my opinion, the state of Israel and our complacency in the Israel-Palestine conflict, along with our direct funding of it, has a lot more to do with the monetary incentives of unfeeling multi-billion dollar companies than our current chosen policymakers, even when Biden was in office he refused to take any direct action in stopping isreal from blocking military aid or cutting off our supplies or billions of dollars of aid we give them.” Saeed Ahmed, a pro-Palestine advocate, told the Ledger. 

The Israel-Palestine conflict has been tragic for both sides, but the more significant issue with just replacing Gaza with a resort is how it erases the Palestinian culture. 

The 70 percent destruction of buildings didn’t just include housing and utilities but the cultural artifacts of Gaza, with its history expanding back four thousand years. During the current conflict, museums like the Rafah Museum, holding artifacts from Gaza’s history and heritage, were destroyed. Mosques from the 12th century, standing for nearly one thousand years, were damaged in airstrikes. Even one of the oldest Christian churches, the Church of Saint Porphyruis, was hit in an airstrike on Oct 19, 2023, where 17 people died from the roof collapsing. 

With the death toll from the current conflict rising without an exact verifiable number, Gaza is suffering from the destruction of people, culture and infrastructure. The proposal to remove Gazans from their land to replace their homes with a resort feels sickening. It reduces their history and culture to nothing more than land to be bought and sold. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do to change this. 

Even with Gaza war protests from across the country demanding a ceasefire, such as the 2024 pro-Palestine college protestors, there has been no move for long-lasting peace. Recently, on March 17, Israel launched another airstrike against Gaza after ceasefire talks failed, according to the Associated Press.  

Despite how bleak everything feels, pressure should still be put on our lawmakers. The U.S. is a significant part of the ongoing peace talks with Palestine, and the more resistance to the idea of Gazan displacement shows that people don’t want our government to turn a people’s tragedy into a fun vacation. 

If you do want to help the people of Palestine directly, many good charities are working to support and uplift the displaced peoples of Gaza, such as the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Of course, you should always research the charities to make sure you are happy with the charity you want to support. Even donating a little bit can help someone in need.