Trump's Middle East envoy says rebuilding Gaza could take 10-15 years

US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy said Thursday that rebuilding the Gaza Strip could take 10-15 years, highlighting the vast destruction caused by Israel's relentless bombardment over the last 15 months.

Steve Witkoff, who recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, described the devastation as overwhelming.

"There is almost nothing left of Gaza," he told the Axios news website. "People are moving north to get back to their homes and see what happened and turn around and leave ... there is no water and no electricity. It is stunning just how much damage occurred there."

Witkoff, a real estate investor and developer, estimated that clearing the debris alone could take five years, with additional time needed to assess underground tunnels before reconstruction could begin.

"There has been this perception we can get to a solid plan for Gaza in five years. But it's impossible. This is a 10- to 15-year rebuilding plan," he said.

Witkoff arrived Wednesday in Israel where he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visited Gaza.

On Thursday, he met Israeli Finance Minister, who is the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism Party, Bezalel Smotrich.

The first six-week phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect Jan. 19, suspending Israel's genocidal war, which has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza's health authorities.

Nearly 1,200 people were killed Oct. 7 in Israel, and 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages, according to official figures.

Ten Israeli captives have been released in return for 290 Palestinian prisoners since the deal took effect.

Some 110 other Palestinian prisoners are set to be released from Israeli jails Thursday.

Under the first phase of the deal, 33 Israeli captives are set to be released in exchange for an estimated 1,700 to 2,000 Palestinian detainees.

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has left more than thousands of people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.