Ongoing hostilities wiped out 66% of employment in Gaza: UN labor agency

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - At least 66% of employment in the besieged Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip has been wiped out by the ongoing war, the UN labor agency said on Wednesday.

This is equivalent to a loss of 192,000 jobs since Oct. 7, 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 the ongoing conflict.

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 Nov. 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 bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7.

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

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.