Gaza’s recovery needs reach $71.5bn amid ‘most severe economic crisis’: UN

UN trade body report says consequences of Israeli occupation have ‘skyrocketed’ with 90% unemployed in Gaza.Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction needs have reached an estimated $71.5bn and are likely to increase, according to the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report.Gaza’s economy has experienced the world’s “most severe crisis on record”, said the report presented at UNCTAD’s 73rd session on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israel’s Netanyahu set to address UN General Assemblylist 2 of 3Back to school in Gaza: Learning in tents after years of disruptionlist 3 of 3Gaza $2.45 billion reconstruction plan. Who decides its future?end of listIt said that 59 years of Israeli occupation have “imposed structural constraints that have systemically stunted the Palestinian economy”, undermining productivity, deepening poverty and forcing dependence on aid.But since Israel launched its genocidal war in October 2023, the consequences of the occupation have “skyrocketed”.Israel’s “intense” military operations have damaged or destroyed 92 percent of economic establishments across Gaza since the war began. unemployment has surged, with over 90 percent of Gaza’s working-age population unemployed, the report said.At the same time, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, erasing $2.8bn in cumulative labour income, it added.Gaza’s GDP per capita last year was $212 ($0.58 a day) – an 83 percent decrease since 2022, it said.A separate assessment by the World Bank, EU and UN put Gaza’s physical infrastructure damage at $35.2bn and economic and social losses at $22.7bn as of early 2026, with the $71.5bn reconstruction estimate “likely to increase”, according to UNCTAD.Housing accounts for the largest share of Gaza’s damage and reconstruction needs, while more than half of hospitals and clinics remain non-functional and less than 1.5 percent of cropland remains accessible and undamaged.