IMF warns Gaza war to ‘severely depress’ Palestinian economy

“We do expect the conflict to severely depress economic activity in both the West Bank and Gaza, where even before the conflict GDP growth was set to decline over the medium term,” the IMF communications chief, Julie Kozack, told reporters.

She added that while the economies of the occupied West Bank, Gaza will be the hardest hit, “the ultimate impact will depend on the duration and intensity of the conflict.”

The IMF announced last week that it will revise its economic outlook for countries in West Asia and North Africa due to the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

The fund warned that the Israeli aggression on Gaza will have wide-ranging consequences for both people and economies in the region.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long suppression and devastation against Palestinians.

Israeli occupation forces are continuing their genocidal war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and have vowed to flatten the coastal territory.

More than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and over 43,000 others injured since the onset of the current US-backed war.

Vast areas of the besieged Gaza Strip have been reduced to rubble as a result of Israel’s incessant bombardment.