Palestinians walk near rubble and destroyed buildings on October 10, 2024, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Unemployment in Gaza has soared to nearly 80 per cent since the Israel-Hamas war erupted, with the devastated enclave's economy in almost total collapse, the International Labour Organisation said on Thursday. The conflict has caused "unprecedented and wide-ranging devastation on the labour market and the wider economy across the Occupied Palestinian Territory", the ILO said, referring to Gaza and the West Bank. Before the crisis, the unemployment rate in Gaza was 45.3 per cent and 14 per cent in the West Bank, according to the Geneva-based organisation. "It has fundamentally altered the socio-economic landscape of Gaza, while also severely impacting the West Bank’s economy and labour market.

Source: Daily Nation October 17, 2024 15:52 UTC