Israel-Hamas Conflict Pushes Gaza's Economy Decades Back, Leaving a Trail of Ruin

The already weak economy of war-torn Gaza is in ruins, much like its structures, after Israel bombed the region for more than a month after Hamas terrorists assaulted the nation in October.

The UN World Food Programme states that most Gazans were considered food insecure even prior to the war because they had little access to reasonably priced, wholesome food, but now things have gotten really worse. Previous to the most recent escalation, around 80 percent of Gazans were dependent on foreign assistance of some kind.

The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute in Ramallah, West Bank, released a study stating that the enclave's economy is essentially "ceasing activity" forever, and that Gaza's jobless rate, which has historically been among the highest in the world at over 40 percent, now stands close to 100 percent.

Gaza's Economy in Shambles Amidst Unprecedented Job Loss and Setbacks

According to the International Labor Organization, at least 182,000 jobs, or 61% of the workforce, have been lost by Gazans in less than a month of the conflict. One more U.N. According to the United Nations progress Programme's estimate, which is based on economic, health, and educational indices, Gaza's progress would regress by 16 to 19 years.

A multi-pronged onslaught by land, sea, and air was launched by Hamas terrorists on October 7, infiltrating Israel and murdering almost 1,200 people. Over 14,500 Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel's airstrikes and ground invasion carried out in retribution.

Egypt controlled Gaza from 1948 to the middle of 1967, when Israel won the Six-Day War against an Arab coalition and annexed both Gaza and the West Bank.

Fifty years ago, Gazans had employment opportunities in Israel, Egypt, the Gulf, and other locations. The enclave had a robust professional class, a university, and an airport. However, because to the ongoing conflict, the enclave's economy is currently in terrible shape, virtually nonexistent.

About 18,000 Gazans were granted permission by Israel to live and work in the nation and its West Bank settlements, but following the Oct. 7 attack, those permits were withdrawn.

Remittances from Palestinian workers in Israel and the Gulf nations were a major factor in the comparatively high capital inflows that the Palestinian economy saw throughout the 1970s and 1980s, according to the UN.

After Israel gave over control of the enclave in 2006, Hamas took leadership in Gaza, and things there underwent a transformation. Since then, Hamas has not conducted elections in Gaza.

Economic Isolation

After Hamas seized control of Gaza, Palestinians lost their opportunity to work in Israel. They also lost their commerce with Egypt because Egypt saw Hamas as a danger and stopped sending money to Gaza to support the Palestinian Authority-run West Bank.

Since Israel placed an air, land, and sea embargo on the Gaza Strip in 2007, the region has been encircled by concrete barriers and barbed wire fences, claiming the action was required to protect itself from Hamas assaults. The United Nations identifies Israel as the state that occupies the West Bank and Gaza, which are Palestinian territory.

The International Monetary Fund claims that over the past 15 years, the enclave's meager economic growth has lagged much behind that of the West Bank due to the siege and ongoing battles with Israel that began in 2008.

Within the 140 square miles of territory between Israel and Egypt, there are 2.3 million Palestinians, and up to 65 percent of them are under 24 years old.

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