The International Labor Organization says unemployment in the occupied West Bank stands at nearly 32 percent, bringing a combined total of more than 50 percent.
Unemployment in the Gaza Strip has reached a “staggering” 79.1 percent since Israel launched its military attack on the besieged and bombed territory in October last year, according to the UN agency. for the job.
In its latest assessment of the war’s impact on jobs, the International Labor Organization (ILO) also said on Friday that unemployment in the occupied West Bank, which has also been hit by the crisis, had also reached nearly 32 percent.
This brings the average unemployment rate in the occupied Palestinian territory to 50.8 percent.
These figures, however, do not include those who have left the labor market completely due to deteriorating employment prospects, the ILO said, warning that the actual figures were higher.
“This excludes Palestinians who have given up on finding jobs,” said Ruba Jaradat, ILO regional director for Arab States. “The situation is much worse.”
Israeli attacks on Gaza since the start of the war have killed at least 36,654 people and injured 83,309, with thousands more missing under the rubble and presumed dead, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel launched its assault after the Palestinian group Hamas carried out an attack in southern Israel on October 7 that killed around 1,140 people, according to Israeli counts.
In the West Bank, the Palestinian toll from Israeli attacks during the same period includes more than 530 killed and some 5,200 injured.
In economic terms, real gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted by almost 33 percent in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war, with an estimated contraction of 83.5 percent in the Gaza Strip, where about half of its 2.3 million people lived below the poverty line even before the war.
“Imagine that with this very high level of unemployment, people will not be able to secure food for themselves and their families,” Jaradat said.
“It also has an impact on their health… Even if they have money, there are no hospitals capable of dealing with the catastrophic situation. »
In the West Bank, the drop in GDP was 22.7 percent, according to ILO data.
“In the occupied Palestinian territories and particularly in the West Bank, reduced incomes have pushed many families into extreme poverty,” Jaradat said.