Kushner–Witkoff Plan Envisions $112B Overhaul of Gaza as High-Tech ‘Smart City’, U.S. Rejects Claim It Would Fund $60B

A draft proposal circulated among foreign governments outlines a decade-long redevelopment of Gaza into a “smart city,” while U.S. officials deny assertions that American taxpayers would underwrite the bulk of the cost.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Representatives connected to the Trump administration have circulated a sweeping redevelopment proposal that would transform war-ravaged Gaza into a futuristic coastal metropolis featuring beach resorts, high-speed rail, and artificial-intelligence-driven infrastructure, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The plan, formally titled “Project Sunrise,” lays out a 10-year redevelopment effort estimated to cost $112.1 billion and envisions rebuilding Gaza into an international destination anchored by luxury beachfront developments, advanced transportation networks, and AI-optimized utilities and services.

According to the Journal, the draft proposal was developed by a team led by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, working alongside senior White House aide Josh Gruenbaum and other administration-linked officials. U.S. officials told the newspaper that the plan has been packaged in a 32-slide PowerPoint presentation labeled “sensitive but unclassified” and shared with prospective donor governments.

Slides described in the presentation depict high-rise developments lining the Mediterranean coast, detailed cost breakdowns, and phased timelines aimed at transitioning Gaza’s population “from tents to penthouses” while jump-starting long-term economic growth. U.S. officials said the proposal has been presented to potential donor nations, including wealthy Gulf states as well as Turkey and Egypt.

The plan does not identify which governments or private entities would ultimately finance the project, nor does it specify where Gaza’s roughly two million displaced residents would live during the reconstruction period, according to the Journal. The draft estimates total costs of $112.1 billion over a decade, covering humanitarian relief, infrastructure reconstruction, and public-sector payrolls.

Of that total, the proposal reportedly suggests that nearly $60 billion could come from grants and debt guarantees, with the United States potentially serving as an “anchor” for roughly 20 percent or more of that support. Those figures prompted immediate pushback from U.S. officials.

The U.S. State Department moved quickly to reject claims that American taxpayers would directly shoulder $60 billion of the project’s cost. In a statement posted on X, the department wrote: “This is fake news. Nowhere in the plan does it say the U.S. will pay $60 billion.”

The proposal also assumes that Gaza could eventually begin to finance parts of the redevelopment itself as economic activity expands. One slide projects that monetizing approximately 70 percent of Gaza’s coastline starting in year 10 could generate more than $55 billion in long-term investment returns, which would be used to service and reduce accumulated debt.

A key prerequisite is highlighted throughout the document: the redevelopment would depend on Hamas fully demilitarizing and dismantling its weapons stockpiles and tunnel networks. According to the Journal, some U.S. officials who reviewed the proposal privately expressed skepticism about its feasibility, questioning whether Hamas would agree to disarm and whether foreign governments would commit the necessary funding amid an unstable postwar environment.