Gaza in worst economic collapse on record – UN
Gaza is suffering the worst economic collapse on record after two years of war between Israel and Hamas have left the Palestinian enclave devastated, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report.
The UN trade body said this week that GDP in 2024 crashed by 83% from the previous year, while GDP per capita fell to $161 for the year – less than 50 cents a day – among the lowest levels in the world.
UNCTAD estimates the economy has shrunk to just 13% of its 2022 size, with inflation at 238%, unemployment near 80%, and all 2.3 million residents pushed below the poverty line.
“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.”
About 70% of all structures in the enclave have been damaged, and rebuilding Gaza will cost at least $70 billion and take decades, according to the report.
The two years of fighting and restrictions have also driven a sharp contraction across the wider Palestinian economy, with the West Bank also sliding into its most severe downturn on record, UNCTAD said.
Israel launched its military campaign in the Palestinian enclave in response to a surprise attack by Hamas in October 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. The Hamas-run Gaza health authorities report that the ensuing Israeli operations have killed more than 69,500 Palestinians.
A US-brokered ceasefire, which took effect in Gaza on October 10, called for Israeli forces to pull back from parts of the enclave and for Hamas to free the last 20 remaining living Israeli hostages in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, Israeli airstrikes have continued despite the truce, while aid deliveries have increased only slowly, leaving conditions on the ground dire, according to UN agencies and regional mediators.
