“In the State of Palestine poverty is projected to rise to 74.3% in 2024, up from 38.8% at the end of 2023, affecting 4.1 million people, including 2.61 million people who are newly impoverished.”
The impact of the year-long war on Gaza has caused human development to be set back by close to 70 years by the end of 2024, according to new assessments by the UN Development Program (UNDP).
”The state of Palestine is experiencing unprecedented levels of setbacks,” Chitose Noguchi, the UNDP deputy special representative, told a UN press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
“For Gaza, reversing development by an estimated 70 years to the level equivalent to 1955.”
The assessment is from a study titled ‘Gaza war: Expected socioeconomic impacts on the State of Palestine’, launched with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
Noguchi said that by the end of 2024, Palestine’s GDP “would drop from the pre-war estimate of 20.2 billion to 13.1 billion, the equivalent of over a 35% reduction.”
Unemployment ‘Skyrocketing’
She said unemployment is “skyrocketing” as one in two people is jobless.
“In Gaza, unemployment is reaching 80%,” Noguchi said, adding that poverty is also “exponentially” rising as three in four people live in poverty.
Human development could be setback by up to 69 years in #Gaza by the end of 2024.
A comprehensive recovery and reconstruction plan is needed to promote recovery-enabling conditions.
Read more in our 🆕 #GazaWarImpact assessment with @UNESCWA: https://t.co/O0I9d04t8s pic.twitter.com/NOiZAabVaT
— UNDP Arab States (@UNDPArabStates) October 22, 2024
“In the State of Palestine poverty is projected to rise to 74.3% in 2024, up from 38.8% at the end of 2023, affecting 4.1 million people, including 2.61 million people who are newly impoverished,” the UNDP official noted.
Describing the situation as an “unprecedented setback in development,” she warned that it is indicating “a loss of almost 24 years of development gains.”
The official said humanitarian aid alone “cannot put” the Palestinian economy on a restorative track to restore pre-war levels and align with Palestinian development goals even if it flowed at the rate of $280 million every year for 10 years.
Impact on Critical Sectors
In addition to the economy, the study found that the war has had a severe impact on critical sectors such as education, healthcare, social services, and the environment.
Educational institutions have suffered significant losses, with numerous casualties among students and educators and the widespread destruction of schools, the report said.
‘Humanitarian Response Strangled’ by Israel Amidst Catastrophic Situation in Gaza – UNRWA
“The healthcare system is nearing collapse, facing critical shortages in medical supplies and widespread malnutrition, particularly among children,” it added.
The assessment also found that the provision of social services has been severely curtailed, leaving most people to fend for themselves, while “the true impact of the war on the environment remains uncertain and will likely take generations to fully address.”
Additionally, the escalations in the West Bank including intensified Israeli military operations resulted in significant casualties and destruction to infrastructure and economic losses.
“Incursions by Israel into the West Bank are expected to further elevate the poverty rate, to 75.0 per cent in the case of a limited incursion and 75.5 per cent in the case of a significant incursion,” the report found.
Over 42,000 Killed
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
‘War and Garbage in Gaza’ – Environmental Crisis in Gaza Brings Disease, Misery
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 42,603 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 99,795 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in the enclave.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Millions Displaced
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
‘Exiled in My Own Land’ – Enduring Displacement and War in Gaza
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Anadolu)
