(UNCTAD): War destroyed 92 percent of economic facilities in Gaza

Geneva, September 24 (KUNA) -- The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) revealed on Thursday that Israel’s ongoing occupation war on Gaza since October 2023 has destroyed 92 percent of the sector’s economic infrastructure, announcing estimates that the cost of recovery and reconstruction amounts to approximately $71.5 billion.

Pedro Moreno, Acting Secretary-General of UNCTAD, stated during a press conference in Geneva to launch the organization’s annual report dedicated to assisting the Palestinian people, that “the collapse of Gaza’s economy represents the most severe economic crisis recorded in the world.” He noted that the war has wiped out decades of development and created a severe economic crisis for the sector’s residents.

He added that damages to Gaza’s physical infrastructure reached $35.2 billion, while economic and social losses amounted to $22.7 billion as of early 2026. This has limited Gaza’s contribution to the Palestinian Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which fell from 17.4 percent in October 2023 to less than four percent in 2025.

The report also revealed that per capita GDP reached $212 in 2025, equivalent to approximately $0.58 per person per day, while more than 90 percent of working-age individuals suffer from unemployment. It further highlighted declines across all productive sectors in Gaza, with both agriculture and industry recording a 94 percent drop, and the construction sector falling by 99 percent compared to 2022. Additionally, the general price level in 2025 rose by 274 percent compared to 2022.

According to the report, the housing sector suffered the largest volume of damages and reconstruction needs. Educational and health facilities sustained widespread damage, with more than half of hospitals and primary health clinics rendered out of service. Less than 1.5 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land remained undamaged, exacerbating reliance on humanitarian food aid.

The report concluded that 59 years of occupation have constrained the Palestinian economy overall, particularly in light of the sharp rise in economic costs since October 2023, the occupation’s tightening of restrictions on economic activity in the West Bank, and increased pressure on public finances and the Palestinian banking sector.

It noted that Palestinian GDP grew by 4.3 percent in 2025 following a sharp contraction in 2024, but remained 20 percent below its 2022 level. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost since October 2023, erasing approximately $2.8 billion in income.

The report documented the declining access to land and natural resources in the West Bank due to settlement expansion, alongside rising displacement. The number of displacements recorded in the first quarter of this year equaled the total recorded for all of 2025, particularly following the eviction of 38 Palestinian residential communities since 2023.

The report stated that the financial situation of the Palestinian government has deteriorated sharply, as the occupation government has completely withheld tax transfers due to the Palestinian government since May 2025 until mid-2026. It clarified that the occupation government collects more than two-thirds of Palestinian financial revenues on behalf of the Palestinian government under the Paris Protocol, noting that transfer operations have been irregular and subject to deductions.

Accumulated deductions and withheld revenues by the occupation between January 2019 and March 2026 amount to approximately $3.67 billion, based on exchange rates prevailing at the time payments were due. This equals 83 percent of total net Palestinian revenues in 2025.

The report estimated that Palestine’s 2025 budget deficit reached 13 percent of GDP if unpaid tax revenues are excluded, compared to 6 percent if these revenues are included as due to the government.

The report indicated that worsening financial pressures are limiting the Palestinian government’s ability to provide basic services, recording a health sector deficit exceeding $1 billion, affecting the education sector, and pushing public debt to $4.8 billion.

In this context, the report identified three urgent priorities for recovery and reconstruction across all occupied Palestinian territories: releasing withheld Palestinian revenues, protecting the banking system, and linking reconstruction support to documented damages and economic losses, emphasizing the necessity of providing immediate international financial and technical support. (End) A.M.Kh / A.M.S