Gaza's Long Road Back: Huckabee Slams 'Talk-Only' Critics

Paul Riverbank, 2/7/2026Gaza’s slow recovery begins as Huckabee blasts empty promises and stresses real on-the-ground rebuilding.

Mike Huckabee, currently the U.S. ambassador to Israel, isn’t known for mincing words. That trait stuck out when I called him this week. “Now the hostages are all back, things will move quicker—finally. Frankly, the Israelis weren’t about to begin rebuilding for Gaza until Hamas was held to account,” he told me, voice edged with fatigue. It’s a rare admission: for months, the conflict’s humanitarian dimension took a back seat, hostage recovery shadowing every negotiation and public statement.

With the discovery of Ran Gvili’s body, a grim chapter closed, but the next may well be harder to write. Huckabee didn’t sugarcoat the situation. “We’re not talking about a ribbon-cutting. This is going to stretch on—years, easily. Could be a decade,” he mused, almost to himself. Families displaced by violence now face the uncertain task of picking through neighborhoods that barely resemble home. Some are being steered toward so-called green zones, the only places engineers have deemed even modestly secure. You’ll see clusters of new, quick-assembled prefab shelters taking shape, if you look past the dust and exposed rebar. They’re small, perhaps too small, but they’re a starting point.

Utilities, power, and water—anything resembling civic life—return only in fits and starts. Huckabee’s assessment was unvarnished: “It’s a slog. It all depends on who actually shows up to help. Promises are cheap; infrastructure isn’t.” The unspoken subtext: talking points at summits don’t pour concrete or patch water lines. Over the years, I’ve watched politicians leave the hard work to the so-called technocrats. This time’s no different. On the ground, the faces actually tasked with rebuilding Gaza aren’t career functionaries or experts in public relations; they're engineers from across the Arab world, men and women more comfortable in hard hats than in press conferences. Their marching orders? Fix what’s broken—keep it safe, keep it clean, keep it honest.

Huckabee couldn’t quite restrain a stab at the Europeans. “Funny to see nations that spent months blasting Israel over humanitarian issues—well, you’d be hard pressed to spot them on-site now, doing real work.” At present, the Board of Peace—an institution conceived during the Trump years, now charged with channeling reconstruction funds—remains a work in progress. EU countries haven’t signed on, and it’s obvious, at least to those on the ground.

Another inescapable worry: history’s lessons about what can happen if militant groups slip quietly back into the humanitarian sector. “Every contractor, every aid group—double and triple checks. Payroll vetting. We can’t afford a repeat,” Huckabee said, more somber this time. There’s little margin for error, and local rumors suggest more than a few attempts to skirt the new restrictions. Security details hover near construction sites, prompting awkward questions about both trust and necessity, but in a region this brittle, skepticism is understandable.

Perhaps the most ambitious pledge revolves around the soul of Gaza, not just its skyline. “Education is going to be rebuilt—from the ground up,” Huckabee declared, evoking a determined, almost parental certainty. “For two decades, kids have been taught to fear and hate. That ends here.” Whether this is aspiration or policy is still unclear, but it’s clear he considers it non-negotiable. Real change, as anyone who’s watched peace processes falter can attest, comes from the classroom as much as from the conference table.

That said, the cynicism bred by years of dashed hopes isn’t easily dispelled. A few planners, eyeing Gaza’s battered Mediterranean coastline, have begun floating the idea of eventual business hubs and—dare I say—tourism. Outside investment is “watchful, but not ready,” I’m told, more than once. Skeptics abound, but in postwar landscapes, gestures toward the fantastical sometimes help people hold on.

Tensions, predictably, still ripple beyond the immediate zone. Israeli settlers, some 1,500 of them—most from the Nachala movement—recently tried to retake positions near the border. Their brief encampment was short-lived; the army, citing safety, ushered them off. Several in the group reportedly vowed to return, a reminder of how raw emotions remain and how swiftly the border can flicker from fragile calm to confrontation.

Meanwhile, the resonance of the conflict stretches far beyond the region. In Sydney, planned protests tied to President Isaac Herzog’s visit prompted extraordinary caution from local authorities. New South Wales’ premier issued stern appeals for calm, bracing for unrest. The subtext, barely concealed: even thousands of miles away, old wounds can spark new anxieties and political headaches.

For Gaza, the way forward is cluttered, slow, and filled with reminders that peacebuilding is never a single act, but a thousand painstaking decisions. “It’s huge. It’s daunting,” Huckabee acknowledged at the end of our conversation. “But a week ago, nobody was talking about real rebuilding. Now, at least, somebody is.” As the concrete dries and the dust slowly settles, it’s the incremental, human progress that may matter most.

Dust drifts where Gaza’s busy streets once pulsed with daily commotion, the haze softening the grim outlines of shattered buildings. Here and there, strands of electric wire hang limp, telling their own story of sudden disruption. The city’s wounds are so fresh, it almost feels disrespectful to call it a recovery—yet, with ceremonies complete and the last Israeli hostage accounted for, that word now sits heavily atop every discussion about Gaza’s future.Mike Huckabee, currently the U.S. ambassador to Israel, isn’t known for mincing words. That trait stuck out when I called him this week. “Now the hostages are all back, things will move quicker—finally. Frankly, the Israelis weren’t about to begin rebuilding for Gaza until Hamas was held to account,” he told me, voice edged with fatigue. It’s a rare admission: for months, the conflict’s humanitarian dimension took a back seat, hostage recovery shadowing every negotiation and public statement.With the discovery of Ran Gvili’s body, a grim chapter closed, but the next may well be harder to write. Huckabee didn’t sugarcoat the situation. “We’re not talking about a ribbon-cutting. This is going to stretch on—years, easily. Could be a decade,” he mused, almost to himself. Families displaced by violence now face the uncertain task of picking through neighborhoods that barely resemble home. Some are being steered toward so-called green zones, the only places engineers have deemed even modestly secure. You’ll see clusters of new, quick-assembled prefab shelters taking shape, if you look past the dust and exposed rebar. They’re small, perhaps too small, but they’re a starting point.Utilities, power, and water—anything resembling civic life—return only in fits and starts. Huckabee’s assessment was unvarnished: “It’s a slog. It all depends on who actually shows up to help. Promises are cheap; infrastructure isn’t.” The unspoken subtext: talking points at summits don’t pour concrete or patch water lines. Over the years, I’ve watched politicians leave the hard work to the so-called technocrats. This time’s no different. On the ground, the faces actually tasked with rebuilding Gaza aren’t career functionaries or experts in public relations; they're engineers from across the Arab world, men and women more comfortable in hard hats than in press conferences. Their marching orders? Fix what’s broken—keep it safe, keep it clean, keep it honest.Huckabee couldn’t quite restrain a stab at the Europeans. “Funny to see nations that spent months blasting Israel over humanitarian issues—well, you’d be hard pressed to spot them on-site now, doing real work.” At present, the Board of Peace—an institution conceived during the Trump years, now charged with channeling reconstruction funds—remains a work in progress. EU countries haven’t signed on, and it’s obvious, at least to those on the ground.Another inescapable worry: history’s lessons about what can happen if militant groups slip quietly back into the humanitarian sector. “Every contractor, every aid group—double and triple checks. Payroll vetting. We can’t afford a repeat,” Huckabee said, more somber this time. There’s little margin for error, and local rumors suggest more than a few attempts to skirt the new restrictions. Security details hover near construction sites, prompting awkward questions about both trust and necessity, but in a region this brittle, skepticism is understandable.Perhaps the most ambitious pledge revolves around the soul of Gaza, not just its skyline. “Education is going to be rebuilt—from the ground up,” Huckabee declared, evoking a determined, almost parental certainty. “For two decades, kids have been taught to fear and hate. That ends here.” Whether this is aspiration or policy is still unclear, but it’s clear he considers it non-negotiable. Real change, as anyone who’s watched peace processes falter can attest, comes from the classroom as much as from the conference table.That said, the cynicism bred by years of dashed hopes isn’t easily dispelled. A few planners, eyeing Gaza’s battered Mediterranean coastline, have begun floating the idea of eventual business hubs and—dare I say—tourism. Outside investment is “watchful, but not ready,” I’m told, more than once. Skeptics abound, but in postwar landscapes, gestures toward the fantastical sometimes help people hold on.Tensions, predictably, still ripple beyond the immediate zone. Israeli settlers, some 1,500 of them—most from the Nachala movement—recently tried to retake positions near the border. Their brief encampment was short-lived; the army, citing safety, ushered them off. Several in the group reportedly vowed to return, a reminder of how raw emotions remain and how swiftly the border can flicker from fragile calm to confrontation.Meanwhile, the resonance of the conflict stretches far beyond the region. In Sydney, planned protests tied to President Isaac Herzog’s visit prompted extraordinary caution from local authorities. New South Wales’ premier issued stern appeals for calm, bracing for unrest. The subtext, barely concealed: even thousands of miles away, old wounds can spark new anxieties and political headaches.For Gaza, the way forward is cluttered, slow, and filled with reminders that peacebuilding is never a single act, but a thousand painstaking decisions. “It’s huge. It’s daunting,” Huckabee acknowledged at the end of our conversation. “But a week ago, nobody was talking about real rebuilding. Now, at least, somebody is.” As the concrete dries and the dust slowly settles, it’s the incremental, human progress that may matter most.