US said to pitch ‘Project Sunrise’ — a plan to rebuild Gaza as luxury destination

Reported proposal drafted by top Trump officials Kushner and Witkoff to cost $112.1 billion over 10 years; imagines ‘New Rafah’ as seat of government, Gaza City as hi-tech ‘smart city’

A US proposal to rebuild war-torn Gaza into a high-tech, luxurious coastal destination over the next two decades has been pitched to possible donor countries, according to a report on Friday.

The project, which would cost $112.1 billion over the first 10 years, was developed by a team led by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff over the past 45 days, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.

Initially, the US would commit to “anchor” the program by providing $60 billion, while envisioning Gaza being able to self-fund parts of the proposal as it gets underway, according to the report.

The 32 pages of PowerPoint slides, labeled “sensitive but unclassified” and detailing a four-stage vision to clear the rubble, rebuild the Strip, and take Gazans out of poverty has been shown to wealthy Gulf countries, Turkey, and Egypt, the Journal reported.

Earlier this year, Trump floated an idea for the US to take over and rebuild the Strip to create “the Riviera of the Middle East,” while Palestinian residents were permanently relocated. His announcement in February was rebuked by several countries but was welcomed by Israel’s government.

The 20-year-long roadmap would be completed in four stages, beginning in the south with Rafah and Khan Younis, then the central camps, before finishing with Gaza City, the report said.

It would involve clearing the rubble, unexploded bombs, and Hamas tunnels while temporary shelter and medical centers are provided to Gazan residents — though it doesn’t specify exactly where they would live during this reconstruction, according to the Journal.

Then, the construction of permanent residences, public facilities, and infrastructure would begin, the report said.

After essential work is completed, the luxury penthouse residences, as part of the “glitzy riviera,” as well as high-tech rail transport, would begin construction, according to the report.

One of the slides seen by the Journal is titled “New Rafah,” with the plan envisioning the city as a “seat of governance” for the Strip. “They would live in a city with more than 100,000 housing units, 200 or more schools, and more than 75 medical facilities and 180 mosques and cultural centers,” the Journal reported.

Another reimagines “Gaza as a ‘smart city’ with tech-driven governance and services.”

By the tenth year, 70 percent of Gaza’s coastline should be monetized, with the reported proposal estimating the Strip could generate over $55 billion in long-run investment returns.

The reported plan requires, in bold and in red, that Hamas “demilitarize and decommission all weapons and tunnels,” a condition that it has so far refused to commit to follow through with.

Both Israel and the US have insisted that the terror group must disarm before Gaza can be rehabilitated. Trump officials told the Journal that the plan could get underway within two months, if security conditions permit.

The plan has received mixed opinions among US officials, with some skeptical that Hamas will relinquish its weapons, thereby allowing it to be implemented, or even if potential donor nations would fund the proposal, according to the Journal.

Others think it is the “most detailed and optimistic” plan yet for Gaza’s potential future, the report said.

“The Trump Administration will continue to work diligently with
our partners to sustain a lasting peace and lay the groundwork for a peaceful and prosperous Gaza,” a White House spokesperson told the Journal when asked to comment.

The report comes as Witkoff was set to meet on Friday in Miami with senior Qatari, Egyptian, and Turkish officials to discuss phase two of the Gaza ceasefire.

The four countries believe that both Israel and Hamas are dragging their feet to avoid implementing the deal’s second phase, and are eager to decide on a joint approach for getting both sides to move forward, according to the report.

Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilization force is to be deployed.

But progress in moving to that phase of the agreement has so far been slow, while the ceasefire remains fragile with both sides alleging violations. Israel killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saad in Gaza last weekend, a move that reportedly sparked Trump to warn of jeopardizing the truce.

So far, Palestinian terrorists released all of the hostages, except for the body of police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.

The Trump administration is now keen to proceed to the difficult second stage, with the provision for Hamas to lay down its weapons being a particular sticking point.

The third phase includes the reconstruction of the vast areas of Gaza leveled during the war triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 devastating invasion of southern Israel.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.