Near 80% percent unemployment in the Gaza Strip

TEHRAN (defapress) - Unemployment in the Gaza Strip has reached 79.1%, while the West Bank has seen joblessness hit nearly 32%, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in its fourth assessment of the impact of the war on employment. The figures give a combined unemployment rate of 50.8%, Reuters reported.

"This excludes Palestinians who have given up on finding a job," said Ruba Jaradat, ILO Regional Director for Arab States.

"The situation is much worse," Jaradat added.

The Israeli offensive has martyred more than 36,500 people, according to health authorities in the Gaza Strip, where around half of its 2.3 million people lived below the poverty line even before the war.

"Imagine with this very high level of unemployment, people will not be able to secure food for themselves and their families," Jaradat said.

In terms of the economy, the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has contracted by nearly 33% in the Palestinian territories since the start of the war, with an estimated contraction of 83.5% in the Gaza Strip and 22.7% in the West Bank, according to data published by ILO.

"In the occupied Palestinian territory and particularly in the West Bank, the reduction in incomes has pushed many families into severe poverty," Jaradat said.