Gaza Herald – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has warned that the Gaza Strip is enduring the most severe economic crisis recorded globally. The organization stated that the ongoing conflict has devastated ninety percent of commercial institutions within the territory. This destruction has left hundreds of thousands of individuals unemployed and stripped the population of essential livelihoods.
Pedro Manuel Moreno, the Acting Secretary-General of the conference, addressed these findings during a press conference held in Geneva. He described the current situation as an unprecedented collapse that has erased developmental gains accumulated over several decades. His remarks accompanied the release of a new report detailing economic shifts in the occupied Palestinian territories since October 2023.
The report indicates that ninety-two percent of economic enterprises in Gaza have suffered damage or total destruction since the onset of hostilities last year. It highlights a drastic decline in living standards, noting that per capita gross domestic product reached only two hundred and twelve dollars in 2025. This figure translates to approximately fifty-eight cents per person per day, reflecting extreme poverty levels across the region.
Muath Al-Aqra, the coordinator for the program assisting the Palestinian people at the conference, emphasized that while two-thirds of Gaza’s residents faced poverty before the war, everyone now suffers from multidimensional deprivation. He pointed out a ninety-four percent drop in agricultural production, leaving merely one point five percent of arable land accessible and usable for farming activities.
Industrial output has similarly plummeted by ninety-four percent, according to Al-Aqra. Consequently, the population has become entirely dependent on humanitarian food aid for survival. The report also documents the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, adding to the fact that more than ninety percent of working-age residents were already unemployed prior to the recent escalation.
Financial instability extends to the West Bank, where the report links restricted access to natural resources and land to the expansion of settlements. The Palestinian government was forced to borrow from private banks, exposing the banking sector to dual risks of default. Al-Aqra cautioned that this could trigger a broader crisis affecting social, political, and commercial spheres beyond just financial metrics.
This report was produced in the Gaza Herald newsroom.
