The ongoing violence in Gaza has triggered widespread humanitarian crises across the occupied Palestinian territories, severely disrupting daily life and crippling the economy, reported a UN agency.
In a recent report, the International Labour Organization (ILO) raised alarm over the profound and lasting socioeconomic damage in both Gaza and the West Bank.
The ILO revealed that nearly 100 percent of Gaza’s population now lives in poverty, a direct result of the ongoing war. The destruction of homes and essential infrastructure has rendered much of the population without livelihoods, contributing to soaring unemployment rates. In Gaza, unemployment has skyrocketed to a staggering 79.7 percent, while in the West Bank, the figure hovers at nearly 35 percent since last October.
The ILO reports that the West Bank’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 21.7 percent year-on-year, while Gaza’s economy plummeted by an alarming 84.7 percent. The war has caused the near-total shutdown of most economic activities in Gaza, as the destruction of homes and workplaces has displaced countless workers and employers. “This has led either to complete termination of work or to a predominance of informal and irregular work,” the ILO said.
Rising poverty has compounded the crisis. The ILO estimates that short-term poverty in the West Bank has more than doubled, soaring from 12 percent in 2023 to 28 percent by mid-2024. The closure of Israeli labor markets to Palestinian workers, coupled with movement restrictions and disrupted supply chains, has further devastated the West Bank’s economy.
The ILO warned that Israeli-imposed barriers to the movement of goods and people, alongside broader trade restrictions, have further strangled the West Bank economy.
Gazans are also struggling with soaring prices as inflation hit a staggering 248 percent year-on-year in August. The combination of economic collapse, unemployment, and inflation has pushed the region into an unprecedented state of desperation.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned of the looming threat of a full-scale famine in Gaza. According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, with women and children making up a significant portion of the casualties. More than 96,600 others have been injured, and thousands remain buried beneath rubble from Israeli airstrikes.
In the West Bank, the humanitarian crisis continues to escalate as Israeli forces and settlers intensify their activities. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, over 738 Palestinians have been killed in the region in the past year alone.
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