Off the wire
• AU says verifying number of casualties after base attack in Somalia  • U.S. manufacturing activity expands at slowest pace since May 2013  • LME base metals mixed on Tuesday  • German scientists' simulations provide more clues to MH370 crash site  • Scottish gov't highlights role of education to achieve fairer society  • Cyprus negotiations continue "to create forward momentum:" UN adviser  • Earthquakes pose greatest natural risk to Switzerland: report  • U.S. stocks plunge following global rout  • Vietnam' s top tennis player rises 255 places in world tennis rankings  • Standings of 26th FIBA Asia Women's Basketball Championship  
You are here: 　 Home

Life in Gaza could become unattainable in next five years: report

Xinhua, September 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

The effects of last year's conflict combined with deteriorating economic trends could render Gaza uninhabitable by 2020, a report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Tuesday cautioned.

UNCTAD's report on assistance to the Palestinian people indicates that eight years of economic blockade have compounded the effects of hard-hitting military operations which have further hampered the territory's ability to export and produce for its domestic market.

According to estimates laid out in UNCTAD's report, last year's conflict alone either damaged or completely destroyed 247 factories, 300 commercial centres, 20,000 Palestinian homes, 148 schools, 15 hospitals and 45 primary health-care centres, while displacing some 500,000 people.

UNCTAD reported that serious damage was also inflicted on Gaza's sole power plant, while the agricultural sector suffered 550 million U.S. dollars of losses.

Three major military operations were conducted by Israeli forces between 2008 and 2014.

Figures show that unemployment levels in Gaza reached record highs in 2014, with 44 percent of the population being jobless, while per capita gross domestic product decreased by 30 percent compared to 1994.

With exports from Gaza remaining almost completely blocked, and imports and cash transfers severely restricted, UNCTAD warned that donor aid will not be able to reverse the continued de-development and impoverishment of Gaza. Endit