Report shows that the poverty rate in territories situated in Palestine is set to double this year to 74.3 per cent after months of fighting in Gaza.
This is according to a report released by the United Nations Development Programme today, Tuesday, the 22nd of October, 2024.
Achim Steiner, the head of the UNDP, stated that the effects of the ongoing war are not just physical but it has also leveled the rate of poverty and worsened livelihood of citizens in the nation.
“The immediate consequence of the war, not just in physical infrastructure destruction, but also in terms of poverty, livelihoods and loss of livelihoods, is enormous” he said.
Before now, the poverty rate had been 38.8 percent at the end of 2023 but another 2.61 million Palestinians fell into poverty this year, bringing it to a total 4.1 million.
“It’s quite clear from this socio-economic assessment, that the level of destruction has set back the state of Palestine by years, if not decades, in terms of its development pathway,” Steiner said.
Studies carried out estimates that this year unemployment in the Palestinian territories could rise to 49.9 percent and that GDP will be 35.1 percent lower than without the war in Gaza.
The statement further highlighted that even if humanitarian aid is delivered each year, the Palestinian economy will not return to its pre-crisis levels for a decade or more years to come.
It further stressed that, recovery will also require support to rebuild destroyed capital and the lifting of “stifling economic conditions”.
Israel’s bombing campaign established 42 million tonnes of rubble in Gaza, creating major health risks.
The destruction of solar panels that have been ongoing is particularly dangerous given the lead and other heavy metals they release.
The nation's bombing and ground offensives in Gaza have killed 42,603 people, a majority of civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the UN considers reliable.
The ongoing war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 last year which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
