A yr of Israel’s assaults on Gaza has had a “devastating impact on the economy” within the occupied West Bank and Gaza, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported on Thursday.
That features a almost 90% decline in Gaza’s gross home product (GDP), severely affecting livelihoods within the area.
“Preliminary official estimates indicate an 86% decline in GDP in the first half of 2024” in Gaza, stated International Monetary Fund communications chief Julie Kozack.
She added that Gaza’s “civilian population faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid delivery.”
In the West Bank, “already grim prospects have further deteriorated, and preliminary official data indicate a 25% decline in GDP in the first half of 2024,” Kozack instructed reporters at a daily briefing.
Israel has been continually bombing Gaza since Oct. 7 after a cross-border assault by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Israel’s offensive has killed greater than 41,780 folks within the enclave, nearly all of them girls and youngsters, in line with figures offered by native well being officers. The U.N. confirms the statistics as dependable.
Israeli economic system additionally hit
Israel’s economic system has additionally been battered by the struggle, with three principal rankings businesses downgrading its debt.
After shrinking by 21% within the fourth quarter of 2023, Israeli GDP rebounded by 14% within the first three months of this yr, official information confirmed.
But progress turned sluggish within the second quarter at 0.7%.
Kozack additionally famous that “in Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country’s already fragile macroeconomic and social situation.”
“We’re closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty,” she added.
Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, started exchanging cross-border hearth from Lebanon with Israel after Israel started its genocidal response to the Hamas assault.
But Israel has escalated the battle after it introduced this week that its troops had began “ground raids” into elements of southern Lebanon, after days of heavy bombardment of areas throughout the nation the place the resistance group holds sway. The bombing has killed greater than 1,000 folks, in line with Lebanon’s Health Ministry, and compelled a whole lot of 1000’s to flee their properties.
In retaliation for the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Hezbollah, Iran launched round 200 rockets in a direct missile assault on Israel on Tuesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden stated he was discussing attainable Israeli strikes on Iranian oil amenities, in feedback that despatched oil costs spiking only a month earlier than the U.S. presidential election.
Source: www.dailysabah.com