Insiders from the Trump administration and well-connected Republican businesses are competing to take control of the upcoming humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Gaza, according to sources and documents seen by the Guardian.
After two years of Israeli attacks, an estimated 75% of Gaza’s buildings are damaged or destroyed. The UN estimates the rebuilding cost at $70 billion, making it a potentially lucrative opportunity for companies specializing in construction, demolition, transportation, and logistics.
However, long-term contracts for reconstruction or aid cannot be issued yet. A UN-endorsed Board of Peace, chaired by Donald Trump, is meant to administer Gaza but is not yet operational. The mandate of the new Civil-Military Coordination Center is also limited.
Alongside these official channels, the White House has formed its own Gaza taskforce, led by Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and Aryeh Lightstone.
The Guardian has learned that two former officials from the “Doge” initiative—once part of Elon Musk’s effort to cut government and fire federal workers en masse—are leading the group’s discussions on humanitarian aid and postwar reconstruction. They have circulated detailed slide decks outlining logistics operations, including costs, financial projections, and potential warehouse locations.
U.S. companies are positioning themselves to benefit. One contender is Gothams LLC, a politically connected contractor that previously won a $33 million contract to help run a controversial detention center in south Florida, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” where immigrants are housed in tents and trailers.
Documents and three sources familiar with the plans say the contractor had an “inside track” to secure what could be its most profitable contract ever. However, after questions from the Guardian, the company’s founder, Matt Michelsen, said in an interview on Friday that he was pulling out due to security concerns, having reconsidered his company’s involvement.
Eddie Vasquez, a spokesperson for the White House Gaza taskforce, did not answer detailed questions about the process. In an email, he stated that this story “illustrates a fundamental ignorance of how the Gaza team operates and the current state of play. We are at the early stages of planning and there are many ideas and proposals currently being discussed with no final decisions having been made.”
Meanwhile, sources say contractors have been traveling to the region to meet with influential U.S. officials and potential business partners before the holidays.
“Everybody and their brother is trying to get a piece of this,” said one longtime contractor familiar with the process. “People are treating this like another Iraq or Afghanistan. And they’re trying to get, you know, rich off of it.”
$1.7 Billion for a ‘Master Contractor’
In November, the UN endorsed Trump’s plan for Gaza.
While Trump and Kushner have both floated ideas for wealthy resorts, most of the international community wants to see Gaza rebuilt as a livable home for its 2.1 million Palestinian residents. Israel, which continues to control half of the Gaza Strip, has said it will forbid reconstruction in the Hamas-controlled half until the group disarms.
Two former Doge officials were sent to the region this fall as planning for postwar Gaza intensified. One is Josh Gruenbaum, a former General Services Administration appointee now serving as a senior adviser to the Gaza taskforce. The other is Adam Hoffman, a 25-year-old Princeton graduate who joined Elon Musk’s Doge efforts last March. Two people who have dealt directly with Hoffman say he has become a driving force in the latest plans.
“The impression is that whatever those guys say is going to happen,” said a person familiar with the process. “That is the perception anyway.”
Hoffman has consistently…The individual has a long history as a conservative political activist, dating back to his teenage years. At age 14, he volunteered for Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, as reported in a 2020 profile by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Even before graduating college, he briefly worked in Trump’s first administration at the Council of Economic Advisors. While at Princeton, he claimed there was antisemitism on campus after a prominent critic of the Israeli government was invited to speak at an event in solidarity with Gaza.
Three sources familiar with the matter say this person has been seeking ideas for a new logistics plan for Gaza. The Guardian has reviewed a planning document, which these sources say he circulated, outlining a new “Gaza Supply System Logistics Architecture.”
Labeled “Sensitive but Unclassified,” the document proposes appointing a “Master Contractor” to deliver 600 humanitarian and commercial truckloads into Gaza daily. It suggests charging a $2,000 fee for each humanitarian load and $12,000 for commercial trucks.
By acting as a licensing authority, the contractor could “earn a fair return” from humanitarian and commercial clients entering Gaza, according to the document. The Guardian estimates that if a “Master Contractor” meets this pace, they could gross $1.7 billion annually from trucking fees alone.
Trucking will be essential for any reconstruction in Gaza. Before the war, around 500 trucks entered the territory daily, providing crucial imports for a population that has lived under an Israeli military blockade for decades.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has periodically cut off all access to Gaza, restricting basic goods like food, fuel, and building supplies. Although a ceasefire deal reached in October stipulated that 600 aid trucks would enter daily, Israel has limited entry to an average of only 140 trucks per day.
Historically, the United Nations has been involved in delivering humanitarian aid across Gaza, once providing over 80% of residents with basic goods, education, and healthcare.
It remains unclear what role the UN or other long-standing humanitarian organizations will play going forward. Israeli authorities control access permits for all groups operating in Gaza, including the for-profit contractors now positioning themselves for potential work with the Board of Peace.
Amed Khan, an American philanthropist who runs the Amed Khan Foundation and delivers medicine to Gaza, criticized the reconstruction planning as flawed and absurd. “None of these people are humanitarians or have backgrounds in humanitarian assistance. It’s a bunch of crap,” he said. “There’s no surge of medicine, no surge of medical equipment.”
The Guardian also reviewed a proposal from Gothams, signed by the firm’s chief financial officer and addressed to the Board of Peace. In response to requests for a proposal, Gothams offered a “fully integrated humanitarian logistics system to support large scale aid operations into Gaza.”
Three sources indicate that Gothams appears to be the leading candidate to handle logistics and has been arranging suppliers and subcontractors.
The firm’s founder is a politically connected Republican who has made extensive donations to Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
After a diverse career that brought him into contact with figures like Lady Gaga, 50 Cent, and several Silicon Valley tycoons, including executives from Meta and Palantir, he entered the disaster-response sector, founding Gothams in 2019.
The company has seen rapid growth in recent years due to lucrative government contracts. It received hundreds of millions in government funding for managing COVID-19 programs during the pandemic and for providing logistics in the expanding field of state-run detention operations.
In 2022, the Texas Observer reported that the founder donated a quarter-million dollars to Abbott’s campaign efforts.That same year, Texas awarded Gothams a $43 million contract. Michelsen said he donated to Governor Abbott because he supports him. “I support Abbott,” he stated.
When speaking with the Guardian on Friday, Michelsen said he was limited in what he could say about the Gaza plans and was unwilling to discuss Hoffman, Gruenbaum, or the process. “I’ve agreed not to share anything about the government,” he explained.
However, Michelsen did say the plans had changed drastically over the past two weeks and had grown in scale. “The original premise has changed,” he said. “This thing has changed massively.”
During the interview, Michelsen said questions from the Guardian had prompted him to withdraw from the Gaza contracting effort. “Your questions have really hit me,” he noted. He said he had just made the decision and was informing the Guardian before even telling his own staff at Gothams. He expressed concern about potential bad publicity and security risks if he proceeded.
“Gothams will not be participating,” he said. “I wish them well.”
Michelsen did promise to inform the Guardian if he changes his mind again.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs US Contractors Gaza Reconstruction
BeginnerLevel Questions
What is happening with US contractors and Gaza
US construction and engineering firms are competing for contracts to lead the massive multibillion dollar effort to rebuild Gazas infrastructure which has been severely damaged This is a major business opportunity
Who or what is Alligator Alcatraz
Alligator Alcatraz is a reported nickname for a specific consortium or group of US contractors that is currently seen as a frontrunner to win the primary reconstruction contract The name suggests a tough secure and potentially controversial entity
Why is this contract so lucrative
The scale of destruction in Gaza is enormous requiring rebuilding of housing roads water systems hospitals and electricity grids Estimates for reconstruction run into the tens of billions of dollars making it one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world
What are critics saying
Critics accuse these contractors of disaster capitalism or profiteeringseeking to generate huge profits from a humanitarian crisis and the suffering of Gazan civilians They argue the focus should be on aid not corporate gain
Advanced Practical Questions
What specific companies are involved in Alligator Alcatraz
While the exact membership isnt always publicly confirmed such consortia typically include largescale engineering firms construction giants logistics companies and security contractors Names like Fluor Bechtel or AECOM have historically been involved in similar major overseas projects
How does a US contractor even get such a contract
Contracts are typically awarded by the US Agency for International Development or potentially through international bodies The process involves a complex proposal that outlines the companys plan cost timeline security measures and local partnerships
What are the biggest practical challenges for any contractor in Gaza
Security Access Ensuring worker safety and getting materials through tightly controlled borders and checkpoints
Logistics Moving vast quantities of construction materials into a blockaded territory
Political Instability The risk of future conflict destroying rebuilt infrastructure
Local Coordination Working with local Palestinian authorities NGOs and communities effectively
Whats the argument for using major US contractors
Proponents
