Displaced Palestinians line up to receive food rations provided by a charity at Gaza's Al Shati refugee camp on October 17, 2024. — AFP
More than a year after Israel's war against Hamas began, the United Nations reported on Thursday that "nearly 100 percent" of Gaza's population has fallen into poverty, with a devastated economy and "staggering" unemployment rates. In the occupied West Bank, where violence has escalated since Hamas's October 7 attack last year, which triggered the war in Gaza, the situation has been equally dire, according to the UN's International Labour Organisation.
"The war's impact in the Gaza Strip has far exceeded the loss of life, dire humanitarian conditions, and physical destruction," said Ruba Jaradat, the ILO's regional director for Arab States. "It has fundamentally transformed the socioeconomic landscape of Gaza," she cautioned. "Its effects will be felt for generations." In the Gaza Strip, "nearly 100 percent of the population now lives in poverty," the ILO stated.
The ILO warned that the significant economic downturn in the West Bank has more than doubled the short-term poverty rate, rising from 12 percent in 2023 to 28 percent by mid-2024. Unemployment in the West Bank has surged to nearly 35 percent since last October, while in Gaza, it averaged a staggering 79.7 percent, the ILO reported. The broader economic impact across the occupied Palestinian territories has also been unprecedented.
The West Bank experienced a 21.7 percent year-on-year contraction in gross domestic product, while GDP in the Gaza Strip plummeted 84.7 percent. Israel initiated its military campaign in Gaza following last year's October attack by Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures, including hostages killed in captivity. Israel's retaliation has claimed at least 42,409 lives, the majority of whom were civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which the UN deems reliable.
These figures also reflect the shutdown of most economic activities in Gaza due to the destruction of homes and infrastructure, and the recurring displacement of workers and employers, the ILO noted. This has led either to the complete cessation of work or to a prevalence of informal and irregular employment. Gazans are also struggling with soaring prices, with year-on-year inflation reaching 248 percent in August.
On Wednesday, the United Nations again warned of the risk of a full-blown famine in the besieged territory. The situation in the West Bank is also increasingly critical. "Israeli barriers to the movement of persons and goods, coupled with broader trade restrictions and supply chain disruptions, have severely impacted the economy," the ILO said. "The closure of the Israeli labour market to Palestinian workers has further strained livelihoods," it added. Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 738 Palestinians in the past year, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry. At least 24 Israelis, civilians or members of the security forces, have been killed in attacks by Palestinian militants or in Israeli military operations in the West Bank over the same period, according to Israeli officials.
