A UN trade body official has said Gaza will need a new “Marshall Plan” to recover from the fighting between Israel and Hamas, adding that the damage from the conflict so far amounts to around $20 billion, Reuters reports.

Speaking on the sidelines of a UN meeting in Geneva, Richard Kozul-Wright, a director at trade body UNCTAD, said the damage was already four times that endured in Gaza during the seven-week war in 2014.

“We are talking about around $20bn if it stops now,” he said.

Kozul-Wright said the estimate was based on satellite images and other information and that a more precise estimate would require researchers to enter Gaza.

The reconstruction will require a new “Marshall Plan”, he said, referring to the US plan for Europe’s economic recovery after World War Two.