A UN report has warned that it could take centuries to rebuild Gaza following Israel’s offensive against Hamas, one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns since the Second World War.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development said that if the war ends tomorrow and Gaza returns to the status quo before Hamas’ October 7 2023 attack on Israel, it could take 350 years for its battered economy to return to its precarious pre-war level.
Before the war, Gaza was under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas seized power in 2007. Four previous wars and divisions between Hamas and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank also took a toll on Gaza’s economy.
The war, one of the deadliest since the Second World War, has destroyed entire neighbourhoods across Gaza and left critical infrastructure in ruins (Adel Hana/AP)
The current war has caused staggering destruction across the territory, with entire neighbourhoods obliterated and roads and critical infrastructure in ruins. Mountains of rubble laced with decomposing bodies and unexploded ordnance would have to be cleared before rebuilding could begin.
“Once a ceasefire is reached, a return to the pre-October 2023 status quo would not put Gaza on the path needed for recovery and sustainable development,” the report said. “If the 2007–2022 growth trend returns, with an average growth rate of 0.4%, it will take Gaza 350 years just to restore the GDP levels of 2022.”
Even then, GDP per capita would decline “continuously and precipitously” as the population grows, it said.
Israeli officials did not respond to a request for comment on the report.