A UN agency reported that the Israeli onslaught in Gaza has left most of the buildings damaged or destroyed and caused a massive economic collapse. The agency said the rebuilding will cost $70 billion and take decades.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported that 70% of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed over the past two years. The Israeli war on Gaza has resulted in an “economic crisis among the ten worst globally since 1960.”
The UN’s children’s agency (UNICEF) reported that nearly every school in Gaza has been destroyed.”A total of 97% of school buildings in Gaza have been totally destroyed as a result of the war in the enclave,” the Al Jazeera television channel quoted him as saying. “More than 670,000 schoolchildren have been deprived of the possibility to attend classes over the past two years.”
The Israeli-inflicted economic collapse in Gaza has reduced the GDP per capita to $161, similar to 1994 levels. The GDP per capita is now one of the lowest in the world, and just five percent of that in the West Bank.
However, Palestinians in the West Bank have also been subject to an Israeli economic war and military operations. “Since late 2023, movement constraints have intensified, further reducing commerce and production. GDP contracted by 17% and GDP per capita by 18.8%, returning to levels last recorded in 2014 and 2008, respectively,” UNCTAD found.
The UN agency said that the Israeli onslaught in Gaza set Palestinians back decades, and it will likely take decades for the Strip to return to pre-October 7, 2023, levels.
“Extensive destruction of infrastructure, loss of productive capacity, and population displacement have inflicted lasting damage on human capital,” the UNCTAD report explained. “Disruptions to education and basic services will have long-term effects on livelihoods and the very foundation of societal resilience.”
It added, “Extensive damage to housing, utilities, and essential infrastructure has disrupted access to food, water, health care, and public services, creating an acute humanitarian and economic emergency. The scale of damage poses major challenges for economic recovery and the re-establishment of basic living conditions without extensive international support.”
Israel has spent much of the past two years indiscriminately dropping bombs on Gaza, killing at least 70,000. The US is Israel’s largest arms supplier.
