Stark UN Report on Devastation to Palestinian Economy Shows GDP Fell 4% after a Month of War

Palestinians walk through a ravaged street following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, on October 10, 2023. (AFP)
Palestinians walk through a ravaged street following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, on October 10, 2023. (AFP)
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Stark UN Report on Devastation to Palestinian Economy Shows GDP Fell 4% after a Month of War

Palestinians walk through a ravaged street following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, on October 10, 2023. (AFP)
Palestinians walk through a ravaged street following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, on October 10, 2023. (AFP)

A UN report paints a stark picture of the devastation of the collapse of the Palestinian economy after a month of war and Israel’s near-total siege of Gaza.

The gross domestic product shrank 4% in the West Bank and Gaza in the war’s first month, sending over 400,000 people into poverty — an economic impact unseen in the conflicts Syria and Ukraine, or any previous Israel-Hamas war, the UN said.

Hamas fighters, who rule Gaza, launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 killing over 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and kidnapping about 240 others.

More than two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes since Israel launched weeks of intense airstrikes followed by an ongoing ground operation, vowing to obliterate Hamas. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday that 10,818 Palestinians, including more than 4,400 children, have been killed so far.

The rapid assessment of economic consequences of the Gaza war released Thursday by the UN Development Program and the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia was the first UN report showing the devastating impact of the conflict especially on the Palestinians, The Associated Press reported.

If the war continues for a second month, the UN projects that the Palestinian GDP, which was $20.4 billion before the war began, will drop by 8.4% — a loss of $1.7 billion. And if the conflict lasts a third month, Palestinian GDP will drop by 12%, with losses of $2.5 billion and more than 660,000 people pushed into poverty, it projects.

UN Development Program Assistant Secretary-General Abdallah Al Dardari told a news conference that a 12% GDP loss at the end of the year would be “massive and unprecedented.” By comparison, he said, the Syrian economy used to lose 1% of its GDP per month at the height of its conflict, and it took Ukraine a year and a half of fighting to lose 30% of its GDP, an average of about 1.6% a month.

At the beginning of 2023, the Palestinian territories – the West Bank and Gaza – were considered a lower middle-income economy with a poverty level of $6 per day per person, Economic Commission Executive Secretary Rola Dashti said.

In January, Gaza was already grappling with high unemployment of about 46%, three-and-a-half times higher than the West Bank’s 13%, the report said.

But just weeks of war has destroyed hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“As the war hits the one-month mark, 61% of employment in Gaza, equivalent to 182,000 jobs, is estimated to have been lost,” it said. “Around 24% of employment in the West Bank has also been lost, equivalent to 208,000 jobs.”

Al Dardari pointed to massive disruption to the economy in the West Bank, which is responsible for 82% of Palestinian GDP, explaining that this is supposed to be the season for olive and citrus farmers to collect their products but they can’t because of the war. And “the tourism season is practically gone – and agriculture and tourism represent 40% of the GDP in the West Bank," he said.

In addition, Al Dardari said, there are major disruptions to trade, to the transfer of money from Israel to the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, and no investment.

The Economic Commission’s Dashti said "the level of destruction is unimaginable and unprecedented” in Gaza.

“As of November 3, it is estimated that 35,000 housing units have been totally demolished and about 220,000 units are partially damaged,” she said. The report said at least 45% of Gaza’s housing units have been destroyed or damaged.

If this persists, the majority of Gazans will have no homes and Al Dardari said even if fighting ended now there will be massive long-term displacement, “with all its humanitarian economic development and security consequences.”

Al Dardari said it breaks his heart that the Palestinian territories had become lower middle income economies, “because all of that growth and development is going to regress between 11, 16, or even 19 years if the fighting continues. ... We will go back to 2002.”



Trump Escalates Trade War with Sweeping Global Tariffs

US President Donald Trump holds a "Foreign Trade Barriers" document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
US President Donald Trump holds a "Foreign Trade Barriers" document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
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Trump Escalates Trade War with Sweeping Global Tariffs

US President Donald Trump holds a "Foreign Trade Barriers" document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
US President Donald Trump holds a "Foreign Trade Barriers" document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

US President Donald Trump intensified a global trade war Wednesday as he slapped sweeping tariffs on imports from allies and foes alike, sending markets into a tailspin and upending decades-long free trade norms.

The EU and China vowed retaliation against the levies, with Australia's leader saying the new tariffs were "not the act of a friend" and would hurt the close allies' relationship.

Shortly after Trump's proclamation, separate tariffs of 25 percent on all foreign-made cars and light trucks went into effect, with auto parts also due to be hit by May 3.

Holding up a chart of the sweeping measures in the White House Rose Garden, Trump unveiled particularly stinging tariffs on major trade partners China and the European Union on what he called "Liberation Day."

"This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history," said Trump. "It's our declaration of economic independence."

The tariffs announcement triggered immediate anger around the world, with rival China warning they could "endanger" global economic development.

Stock markets looked set for major volatility Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei leading an Asian selloff, collapsing more than four percent, and Hanoi shares tanked more than five percent after Vietnam was targeted with tariffs of 46 percent.

US futures plummeted and safe haven gold hit a new record as investors took fright.

Trump reserved some of the heaviest blows for what he called "nations that treat us badly."

That included an additional 34 percent on goods from China -- bringing the new added tariff rate there to 54 percent.

Beijing swiftly vowed countermeasures and called for dialogue, warning the levies would "seriously harm" those involved.

The figure for the European Union was 20 percent, and 24 percent on Japan, whose trade minister called the tariffs "extremely regrettable."

For the rest, Trump said he would impose a "baseline" tariff of 10 percent, including another key ally, Britain.

The 78-year-old Republican brushed off fears of turmoil, insisting that the tariffs would restore the US economy to a lost "Golden Age."

"For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike," Trump said.

'Make America wealthy again'

A hand-picked audience of cabinet members, as well as workers in hard hats from industries including steel, oil and gas, whooped and cheered as Trump promised tariffs would "make America wealthy again."

Trump labeled Wednesday's tariffs "reciprocal" but many experts say his administration's estimates for levies placed on US imports by other countries are wildly exaggerated.

The US president had telegraphed the move for weeks, sparking fears of a recession at home as costs are passed on to US consumers, and a damaging trade war abroad.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned against countermeasures, saying on Fox News: "If you retaliate, there will be escalation."

Some of the worst-hit trading partners were in Asia, including 49 percent for Cambodia, 46 percent for Vietnam and 44 percent for military-ruled Myanmar, recently hit by a devastating earthquake.

Russia was not affected because it is already facing sanctions over the Ukraine war "which preclude any meaningful trade," a White House official said.

Certain goods like copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber and gold will not be subject to the tariffs, according to the White House.

'Fight'

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed Europe was "prepared to respond" to the tariffs, calling them a "major blow to the world economy."

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close Trump ally, said the levies on the EU were "wrong" but pledged to seek a deal.

Britain escaped relatively lightly after a diplomatic offensive, but said it still wanted to "mitigate" the tariffs.

Canada and Mexico are not affected by the new levies as Trump has already punished them for what he says is their failure to stymie drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to "fight" the existing levies.

Trump's announcement is the culmination of a long love affair with tariffs, which he has seen for decades as a cure-all for America's trade imbalances and economic ills.

The 10 percent "baseline tariff" kicks in on Saturday, while the elevated rates for those the White House deemed "the worst offenders" will take effect on April 9.