GAZA, (PIC)
The widespread destruction of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israeli war on the enclave led to a near-total collapse of the transport and communications system, which prompted the residents to innovate informal alternatives that reorganized the movement of transport and economic and social activities.
An analytical study issued by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research revealed that the destruction of roads, vehicles, and transport networks, alongside the acute shortage of fuel, caused widespread paralysis for traditional means of transport, and an unprecedented decline in its operational capacity, which made daily movement dependent on great hardship, high costs, and increasing risks.
The study explained that this collapse did not stop life, but rather produced what it described as an alternative “movement economy”, relying on simple and unorganized means of transport, such as hand and towed carts, bicycles, and animal-drawn carts, in addition to “tuk-tuk” vehicles and trucks used for mass transport.
It added that these transformations were not limited to the service side, but extended to affect the economic and social structure, as new professions appeared related to alternative transport means, in contrast to a significant increase in transport costs, which worsened living burdens and deepened gaps in access to basic services.
The study indicated that transport became a crucial element in the distribution of food and humanitarian aid, as obtaining basic needs became linked to the ability of individuals to bear the costs of movement, in light of an acute liquidity crisis and a noticeable rise in transport prices.
The study concluded that this reality represents a forced model for societal adaptation in light of the collapse, reflecting the capacity of residents to innovate, but it remains fragile in light of the absence of an infrastructure capable of ensuring safe and fair movement.
It called for urgent intervention to reorganize the transport sector within a comprehensive plan for reconstruction, to ensure the restoration of the right to movement as an essential part of the humanitarian and economic recovery in the Gaza Strip.
