People queue to fetch water in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 11, 2023. The outbreak of a bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7 has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis as the Palestinians are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and electricity, as well as the "total collapse" of the health system. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
BEIRUT, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The poverty rate in Palestine will rise sharply if the conflict continues in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip, warned a UN study released on Thursday.
The poverty rate will rise by 34 percent, and an additional half million people will suffer if the conflict continues for a second month, according to the study released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
Entitled "The Gaza War: Expected Social and Economic Impacts on the State of Palestine," the study noted that the gross domestic product (GDP) in Palestine will fall by 8.4 percent, representing a loss of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars.
It added that if the conflict continues for a third month, the poverty rate will rise by about 45 percent, increasing the number of people in poverty by over 660,000 in parallel to a 12.2-percent decline in GDP, with losses amounting to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars.
It estimates that the poverty rate in Palestine has risen by 20 percent a month into the war as its GDP has fallen by 4.2 percent. At the same time, 390,000 jobs were lost so far.
The outbreak of a bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7 has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis as the Palestinians are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and electricity, as well as the "total collapse" of the health system. ■
Children fetch water in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 11, 2023. The outbreak of a bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7 has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis as the Palestinians are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and electricity, as well as the "total collapse" of the health system. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
People cook food on firewood on a street in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 11, 2023. The outbreak of a bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7 has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis as the Palestinians are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and electricity, as well as the "total collapse" of the health system. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
People queue to fetch water in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 11, 2023. The outbreak of a bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7 has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis as the Palestinians are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and electricity, as well as the "total collapse" of the health system. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
A boy cooks food on firewood on a street in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 11, 2023. The outbreak of a bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7 has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis as the Palestinians are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and electricity, as well as the "total collapse" of the health system. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
People cook food on firewood on a street in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 11, 2023. The outbreak of a bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7 has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis as the Palestinians are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and electricity, as well as the "total collapse" of the health system. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
People queue to fetch water in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 11, 2023. The outbreak of a bloody conflict between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7 has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis as the Palestinians are suffering from a shortage of food, water, and electricity, as well as the "total collapse" of the health system. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
