President Erdoğan calls for immediate reconstruction of Gaza — Asharq Al-Awsat

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, United States, called on the international community to immediately begin rebuilding the devastated Gaza Strip and increase pressure on Israel.

Erdoğan said that Gaza’s reconstruction must begin immediately, Asharq Al-Awsat reports. The Turkish president also called on states that have not yet recognized Palestine as an independent state to reconsider their position.

Reaction of the Israeli delegation

According to the publication, after Erdoğan’s call to recognize Palestine, the Israeli delegation left the meeting hall. Israel has firmly rejected the recognition of a Palestinian state by a number of countries.

As noted in the report, since Israel’s large-scale response to the Hamas militants’ attack on October 7, 2023, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to numerous airstrikes. According to the UN, as of October 2025, 84% of all structures in the Strip had been damaged or destroyed.

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Despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States in October 2025, Israel continued to carry out airstrikes and restricted the import of equipment needed to restore the territory, international non-governmental organizations claim.

Cost of reconstruction

According to a joint assessment by the UN, the World Bank and the European Union, released in April, $71.4 billion is needed for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction over the next decade.

A year earlier, France led a special UN summit on the recognition of a Palestinian state. During it, ten countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, officially recognized Palestine, bringing the total number of UN member states that had done so to about 157.