Israel’s military assault wiped out 66% of employment in Gaza: UN labor agency

GENEVA (AA) – At least 66% of employment in the Gaza Strip has been wiped out by Israel’s military attacks since October 7, the UN labor agency has said.

This is equivalent to a loss of 192,000 jobs, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said, citing a joint bulletin published with the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).

According to the bulletin, the year-on-year Palestinian unemployment rate is set to almost double due to Israel’s current war on Gaza.

Regarding the effect of current hostilities on the West Bank, the estimates showed that around 32% of employment has been lost, equivalent to 276,000 jobs.

In total, 468,000 jobs are estimated to have been lost across the occupied Palestinian territory as of November 30.

This supersedes the previous ILO and PCBS estimate of 390,000 jobs expected to be lost due to the ongoing hostilities.

These job losses represent $20.5 million in lost daily labor income.

According to the bulletin, the unemployment rate in the occupied territories is projected to increase from 24% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to a staggering 46.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“The Palestinians of Gaza are in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions,” ILO Regional Director for Arab States Ruba Jaradat said in a statement.

“The repercussions on the lives and livelihoods of affected communities are beyond anything seen in the Occupied Palestinian Territory before.” Jaradat said, adding that the economic, social and development impact also has” grave cascading implications” for the labor market, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank.

Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a crushing siege and mounted a brutal ground offensive since October 7.

At least 19,667 people — mostly children and women — have been killed and 52,586 others injured ever since, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Local services and infrastructure in Gaza has been shattered to ruins as basic necessities like fuel, electricity, food and water remain effectively blocked.