World Bank says Gaza economy operating at 16% of its capacity

The economy of Gaza has come to a “near-complete standstill” due to Israel’s operation, with about 85% of workers left without jobs since its beginning, according to the Bank.

“As of the second half of November, roughly 60% of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, 60% or more of health and education facilities, 70% of commerce-related infrastructure are damaged or destroyed in Gaza,” the report said.

Moreover, nearly half of all roads are damaged or destroyed as a result of the operation, it added.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently issued a stern warning about the economic impact of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip on the regional economic outlook, and stressed that the onslaught on the besieged enclave is expected to “severely depress” the 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 18,600 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and over 50,000 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.