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UN Report: Gaza Suffers Worst Economic Crisis in History
(MENAFN) Gaza has plunged into the most catastrophic economic devastation in documented history following two years of warfare between Israel and Hamas, a UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report reveals.
The UN trade agency reported this week that the enclave's GDP plummeted 83% in 2024 compared to the prior year, while per capita GDP cratered to just $161 annually—translating to under 50 cents daily—ranking among the planet's lowest.
UNCTAD calculates the economy has contracted to merely 13% of its 2022 scale, with inflation exploding to 238%, unemployment hovering near 80%, and the entire 2.3 million population now subsisting below the poverty threshold.
"The post-October 2023 military operations have destroyed the economic foundations of Gaza and propelled it from de-development to utter ruin," UNCTAD wrote, adding that the crisis has erased 69 years of progress and plunged the enclave's economy into "the most severe crisis ever recorded."
Approximately 70% of all infrastructure throughout the territory has sustained damage, with reconstruction costs estimated at a minimum $70 billion requiring decades to complete, the report states.
The sustained conflict and movement restrictions have triggered a severe contraction across the broader Palestinian territories, with the West Bank simultaneously experiencing its steepest downturn on record, UNCTAD confirmed.
Israel initiated its military offensive in the Palestinian territory following a surprise Hamas assault in October 2023 that claimed 1,200 lives and resulted in 250 hostages. The Hamas-administered Gaza health ministry reports Israeli operations have since killed over 69,500 Palestinians.
A US-mediated ceasefire implemented in Gaza on October 10 stipulated Israeli force withdrawals from certain areas and Hamas's release of the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees. Nevertheless, Israeli airstrikes have persisted despite the agreement, while humanitarian aid deliveries have increased only marginally, leaving ground conditions catastrophic, according to UN agencies and regional negotiators.
The UN trade agency reported this week that the enclave's GDP plummeted 83% in 2024 compared to the prior year, while per capita GDP cratered to just $161 annually—translating to under 50 cents daily—ranking among the planet's lowest.
UNCTAD calculates the economy has contracted to merely 13% of its 2022 scale, with inflation exploding to 238%, unemployment hovering near 80%, and the entire 2.3 million population now subsisting below the poverty threshold.
"The post-October 2023 military operations have destroyed the economic foundations of Gaza and propelled it from de-development to utter ruin," UNCTAD wrote, adding that the crisis has erased 69 years of progress and plunged the enclave's economy into "the most severe crisis ever recorded."
Approximately 70% of all infrastructure throughout the territory has sustained damage, with reconstruction costs estimated at a minimum $70 billion requiring decades to complete, the report states.
The sustained conflict and movement restrictions have triggered a severe contraction across the broader Palestinian territories, with the West Bank simultaneously experiencing its steepest downturn on record, UNCTAD confirmed.
Israel initiated its military offensive in the Palestinian territory following a surprise Hamas assault in October 2023 that claimed 1,200 lives and resulted in 250 hostages. The Hamas-administered Gaza health ministry reports Israeli operations have since killed over 69,500 Palestinians.
A US-mediated ceasefire implemented in Gaza on October 10 stipulated Israeli force withdrawals from certain areas and Hamas's release of the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees. Nevertheless, Israeli airstrikes have persisted despite the agreement, while humanitarian aid deliveries have increased only marginally, leaving ground conditions catastrophic, according to UN agencies and regional negotiators.
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