Hamas-Israel War Causes Unemployment In Gaza Strip To Nearly 80 Percent

JAKARTA - The United Nations employment agency on Friday said unemployment in the Gaza Strip had reached nearly 80 percent, since the latest war between Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Israel broke out in October 2023, while the average unemployment rate in Palestine was more than 50 percent.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) in its fourth assessment of the impact of the war on employment said unemployment in the Gaza Strip had reached 79.1 percent, while in the West Bank it had experienced unemployment of nearly 32 percent.

These figures provide a combined unemployment rate of 50.8 percent, the agency said.

"This does not include Palestinians who have given up on finding work," said Ruba Jaradat, ILO Regional Director for Arab countries.

"The situation is much worse."

The latest Hamas-Israeli conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, when a Palestinian militant group carried out an attack on Israel's southern region, which claimed to have killed 1,200 people and 253 others were held hostage, according to Israeli calculations.

In response, Israel carried out a blockade, airstrikes and ground operations that have continued to expand to date in the Gaza Strip. Local health authorities on Friday announced that about 77 Palestinians were killed and 221 others injured as a result of the last 24 hours of Israeli attacks, quoted from WAFA.

That has left Palestinians dead as a result of Israeli attacks since the conflict broke out to 36,731 people and 83,530 people injured. The majority of victims were women and children.

"Imagine that with this very high unemployment rate, people will not be able to secure food for themselves and their families," said Jaradat.

"This also has an impact on their health. Even if they have money, there are no hospitals that can accommodate the disaster situation there," he continued.

In terms of the economy, real gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted nearly 33 percent in Palestinian territory since the start of the war, with an estimated contraction of 83.5 percent in the Gaza Strip and 22.7 percent in the West Bank, according to data published by ILO.

"In occupied Palestinian territories and particularly in the West Bank, the decline in income has pushed many families into severe poverty," said Jaradat.