The Trump administration has advanced an ambitious 20-year blueprint although it provides little clarity on how to navigate the political, security and humanitarian realities that would precede any groundbreaking ceremony

The Trump administration has advanced an ambitious 20-year blueprint, dubbed Project Sunrise, to rebuild the Gaza Strip as a high-tech coastal hub—frequently described as a “Middle East Riviera”. The $112 billion proposal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is conceived by President Donald Trump’s adviser Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and it frames Gaza’s reconstruction as a vast development venture, promising smart-city infrastructure, luxury tourism and high-speed transport.

At present, Gaza remains a shattered enclave. Officials estimate that around 10,000 bodies are still buried under some 68 million tonnes of rubble, much of it contaminated by unexploded ordnance and toxic materials. Project Sunrise outlines a dramatic transformation of this rubble into modern apartment towers and AI-managed power grids.

The plan was presented in a 32-page document marked “sensitive but unclassified”. It sets out a four-stage reconstruction process stretching over two decades. Initial stages of the plan involve clearing debris, restoring basic services and building temporary housing in southern Gaza. Subsequently, there would be permanent apartments, luxury resorts and a high-speed rail network. By the tenth year, the monetised coastline is projected to generate more than $55 billion in investment returns. A new administrative centre, “New Rafah”, would house governance institutions and provide roughly 100,000 housing units.

Proponents argue that this economic overhaul could lift Gaza from chronic poverty into regional prosperity. They say the plan will replace aid dependency with market-driven growth, delivering something concrete where previous diplomatic initiatives have failed.

However, the obstacles confronting Project Sunrise are formidable. The most fundamental contradiction appears within the proposal itself: the plan cannot begin unless Hamas agrees to fully demilitarise, surrendering all weapons and dismantling its tunnel network. The United States and Israel insist this is non-negotiable. And Hamas is unlikely to give up its arms and its coercive control over Gaza to facilitate an American real estate project closely aligned with Israeli strategic interests. While there were indications that Hamas might relinquish administrative control to a Palestinian governing authority, Israel has objections to the presence of certain Palestinian technocrats, further undermining consensus.

Read More: Understanding ‘Project Sunrise’ as Donald Trump pitches again to turn Gaza into a luxury destination