Gaza – Ma’an – The government media office in Gaza announced today, Wednesday, that the unemployment rate in the Strip has risen to 75%, with poverty increasing to more than 90% as a result of the ongoing Israeli war since October 7, 2023.
On the occasion of International Workers’ Day, which falls on May 1 annually, the office said in a statement, ‘In light of the disastrous Israeli war, the poverty rate has risen to more than 90% in Gaza.’
He continued, “Also, 95% of the economic establishments in the Strip stopped working completely due to the bombing and destruction.”
He stressed that “workers in Gaza are living in unprecedented humanitarian conditions, with the unemployment rate rising to 75% compared to 46% before the war (…) and the siege continuing for the 18th year in a row.”
The Government Information Office added, “Israel killed thousands of Palestinian workers during the war on the Gaza Strip, where about 2.3 million Palestinians live.”
He added, “More than 200,000 people lost their jobs du
ring the first 3 months of the war, including nearly 5,000 fishermen, as the occupation army imposes a stifling siege and prevents fishermen from fishing in the sea.”
He estimated “the direct initial losses of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip at $33 billion, as Israel destroyed 15 sectors of work and life.”
The Government Information Office held Israel, the US administration and the international community ‘fully responsible for the harsh and inhumane conditions that the workers of the Gaza Strip are experiencing on their International Day.’
He called on the countries of the world and international and international organizations to “stop the genocidal war against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and support the working class.”
Source: Maan News Agency