(CLO) A recent report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said that Israel's war in Gaza has caused development indicators such as health and education to regress by nearly 70 years, while pushing millions of Palestinians into poverty.
The report released on Tuesday showed that the Palestinian economy shrank by 35% compared to the same period last year, when Israel began its attacks on Gaza, and that unemployment was "likely to increase" to around 49.9%.
Gaza residents evacuate. Photo: aljazeera
Gaza's Human Development Index (HDI), a measure of “average levels of achievement in key areas of human development,” is expected to fall to its 1955 estimate, “erasing more than 69 years of progress.”
In the occupied West Bank, the HDI is also expected to decline, reflecting a lag of about 16 years, and is likely to deteriorate further if Israeli military attacks expand.
The poverty rate in the region is expected to nearly double to 74.3% by 2024. In total, 4.1 million Palestinians currently live in poverty in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including 2.61 million who fell into poverty in the past year, according to the UNDP report.
“The State of Palestine is facing unprecedented levels of backwardness,” said Chitose Noguchi, UNDP representative.
Achim Steiner, head of the UNDP, said the immediate consequences of the war, including the destruction of infrastructure, increased poverty and loss of livelihoods, were devastating. He said that even if humanitarian aid were provided annually after the war ended, the Palestinian economy would not return to pre-crisis levels for at least a decade.
The report also found that Israel’s air campaign has created 42 million tons of rubble in Gaza, posing a major health risk. The destruction of solar panels further increases the risk due to the release of heavy metals such as lead.
On the same day, the United Nations Refugee Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) called for a ceasefire in northern Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to reach stranded people. Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, shared on social network X that the agency's staff could not find food, water or medicine in the war-torn area.
According to Gaza's Government Communications Office, since the war began, Israeli forces have prevented “more than 250,000 trucks carrying aid and goods” from entering Gaza, leaving 96 percent of the population facing severe food shortages.
Gaza's health authority said at least 42,718 people have been killed and 100,282 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023.
Hong Hanh (according to Al Jazeera)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/lien-hop-quoc-chien-tranh-khien-gaza-thut-lui-gan-70-nam-bo-tay-tut-hau-16-nam-post318028.html
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