'Demolition Done, Now We Build': Israeli Minister Calls Gaza A 'Real Estate Bonanza'

Last Updated:September 18, 2025, 19:07 IST

Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said that plans are being discussed with the US, adding that "a business plan is on President Trump’s table"

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. (AFP file photo)

Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has called the war-torn Gaza Strip as a “real estate bonanza" and claimed that plans are being discussed with the United States about dividing the territory once the fighting ends.

Speaking at the Urban Renewal Summit in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Smotrich said, “We have done the demolition phase, which is always the first phase of urban renewal – now we need to build."

He added that “a business plan is on President Trump’s table," suggesting that discussions with the US are already underway.

Trump had earlier in February floated a plan for the US to take a “long-term ownership position" in Gaza. He had described the territory as having the potential to become the “Riviera of the Middle East," CNN reported.

Such ideas, however, have drawn widespread criticism, as they involve the forced displacement of Palestinians and would violate international law. The notion of rebuilding Gaza without its native population has been condemned globally.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military offensive in Gaza continues. On Thursday, tanks and warplanes pounded parts of Gaza City, forcing thousands of civilians to flee amid airstrikes and heavy ground assaults. The area, already ravaged by nearly two years of war, is now suffering from a UN-declared famine, worsening the humanitarian crisis.

The US-backed assault began earlier this week and comes just as a United Nations probe accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The report claimed that Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had incited actions amounting to genocide. Israel has strongly rejected the accusations, calling the findings “distorted and false."

The war began in October 2023 after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel, killing 1,219 people, mostly civilians. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 65,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry — figures the UN considers credible.

Israeli officials estimate that 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants remain in central Gaza City, and that around 40 percent of residents have fled the area.

(With inputs from agencies)

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News world 'Demolition Done, Now We Build': Israeli Minister Calls Gaza A 'Real Estate Bonanza'

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