66 percent of people lost their jobs because of the war in Gaza

 

     About 66 percent of people in the Gaza Strip have lost their jobs since the beginning of the Palestinian-Israeli war. They now have to rely entirely on international aid

About 66 percent of people in the Gaza Strip have lost their jobs since the Palestinian-Israeli war began on October 7. The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics reported this information.

The ILO and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reported on Wednesday that Palestinian employment in the Gaza Strip has fallen by two-thirds, equivalent to 192,000 jobs, since the war began.

Its impact on the economy of the occupied West Bank is also significant. Employment here fell by one-third, which equates to 276,000 jobs.

According to the ILO and PCBS reports, the job market in Gaza was already depressed before the war. And the war has exacerbated the recession in the region's job market. Palestinians in Gaza have long struggled with high rates of poverty, vulnerability and one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. And now the area is basically uninhabitable.

Unemployment in the Gaza Strip now exceeds three-quarters of the labor force. About one-third of the West Bank's labor force is now unemployed. The unemployment rate has reached its highest level in decades.

Ola Awad, PCBS President

PCBS President Ola Awad said, "The crisis has had a major impact on the economic structure of Palestine. Unemployment in the Gaza Strip now exceeds three-quarters of the labor force. About one-third of the West Bank's labor force is now unemployed. The unemployment rate has reached its highest level in decades.

Both organizations say the humanitarian crisis has devastated the labor market. Because of this, people have to suffer for life and have to be totally dependent on international aid.

Peter Radmacher, the ILO's deputy regional director for Arab states, told Al Jazeera from Geneva that Palestinians in Gaza will "live in poverty for many months and years to come" because of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip. He also said, "Even before the war, the labor market in the occupied West Bank and Gaza was depressing."

"(The war is going on) a lot of people in Gaza and the West Bank will have no income, no wages," said Peter Rademaker. No one will give them any money. Increasingly, they have to rely on international aid.

The current situation will leave the Palestinian people dependent and competing for a share of global aid distributions for many years to come.

"Unfortunately, the authorities do not have any public funding to provide social assistance," said Peter Radmaker. So it has to come from outside. As we all know, there are many crises going on worldwide. Therefore, there is not much possibility of Palestine getting the international aid it needs.

A United Nations assessment last week found that nearly 40,000 buildings, or about 18 percent of infrastructure, have been damaged or destroyed in the Gaza Strip since the conflict began.