Israel’s battle in opposition to Hamas has decimated Gaza’s economic system, shrinking it to lower than one-sixth of its 2022 stage, amid an “alarming decline” within the West Financial institution, the UN mentioned Thursday.
Because the battle erupted within the Gaza Strip greater than 11 months in the past, the United Nations mentioned financial devastation has taken place at a “staggering scale”.
“Manufacturing processes have been disrupted or decimated, earnings sources have disappeared, poverty has intensified and expanded, neighbourhoods have been eradicated and communities and cities have been ruined,” the UN Commerce and Improvement company (UNCTAD) mentioned in a brand new report.
The battle erupted after Hamas’s October 7 assault inside Israel, which resulted within the deaths of 1,205 individuals, largely civilians, in line with an AFP tally based mostly on official Israeli figures, which incorporates hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliation has killed at the least 41,118 individuals in Gaza, in line with the territory’s well being ministry. The UN rights workplace says many of the lifeless are ladies and kids.
And the Palestinian territory has been left in ruins.
– ‘Many years’ –
Mutasim Elagraa, who coordinates UNCTAD’s Palestinian help programme, mentioned it remained unclear how a lot it will price to rebuild.
“However the proof we now have now (signifies) will probably be excessive tens of billions or possibly much more,” he informed reporters in Geneva.
“It is going to take many years to carry Gaza again to the place it was in October 2023.”
Already by early 2024, UNCTAD mentioned as much as 96 % of Gaza’s agricultural belongings, together with farms, orchards, irrigation programs, equipment and storage services, had been “decimated”.
This had crippled meals manufacturing capability and worsened the already towering ranges of meals insecurity within the besieged Palestinian territory, it mentioned.
A full 82 % of companies in Gaza had additionally been broken or destroyed.
Within the final quarter of 2023 alone, Gaza’s gross home product (GDP) plummeted 81 %, resulting in a 22-percent contraction for the whole 12 months, the report discovered.
“By mid-2024, Gaza’s economic system had shrunk to lower than one-sixth of its 2022 stage,” UNCTAD mentioned.
Spiralling violence within the West Financial institution has in the meantime sparked a “fast and alarming financial decline” there as nicely, the company warned, mentioning that GDP there had contracted 19 % within the last quarter of 2023.
Since October 7, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at the least 662 Palestinians within the West Financial institution, in line with the Palestinian well being ministry.
At the very least 24 Israelis, together with members of the safety forces, have been killed in Palestinian assaults throughout the identical interval, Israeli officers say.
Thursday’s report mentioned elements like settlement expansions, land confiscation, demolition of Palestinian buildings, elevated settler violence had displaced West Financial institution communities and severely impacted financial actions.
A full 80 % of companies in East Jerusalem Previous Metropolis have both partially or utterly ceased operations, UNCTAD mentioned.
– 79% unemployment –
Labour market circumstances throughout the Palestinian territories have additionally worsened dramatically since October 7.
Within the West Financial institution, the report confirmed that 96 % of companies decreased exercise, and over 42 % lowered their workforce.
In all, 306,000 jobs have been misplaced, pushing the West Financial institution’s unemployment charges from almost 13 % earlier than the battle to 32 %.
In Gaza, in the meantime, a full two-thirds of pre-war jobs — round 201,000 positions — had been misplaced by January this 12 months, the report confirmed.
Unemployment within the besieged territory reached 79 % within the last quarter of 2023, up from 46 % within the earlier quarter, it mentioned.
Even earlier than the battle, poverty was already widespread.
And now “poverty impacts almost the whole inhabitants of Gaza and is rising quickly within the West Financial institution”, UNCTAD mentioned.
