The genocide war has erased 69 years of development in Gaza... and UN warnings about the consequences for the economy.

The United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, stated that a new UN report concluded that the Israeli war on Gaza has erased 69 years of human development, destroying healthcare systems, education, infrastructure, and even banks.

Albanese wrote in a post on X that this represents the worst economic collapse ever recorded, adding that the destruction witnessed in Palestine since October 2023 has unleashed successive crises—economic, humanitarian, environmental, and social—pushing the occupied Palestinian territories from a lack of development to complete devastation.

The United Nations warned of an unprecedented collapse of the Palestinian economy in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, confirming that the two-year war has erased the impact of decades of development, pushing Gaza into a state of total destruction.

The report indicated that the widespread destruction caused by the war to infrastructure, productive assets, and vital services has nullified decades of social and economic progress in the Gaza Strip.

The UN report clarified that the per capita GDP of Palestine has declined to the level of 2003, equivalent to a loss of 22 years of development.

The report noted that the resulting economic crisis is among the worst 10 global economic crises since 1960.

It also warned that the extent of the destruction in Gaza means that the region will remain entirely dependent on intensive international support, and that the recovery process may take decades.

It pointed out that the Israeli war has widely destroyed every pillar of survival, including food, shelter, and healthcare, pushing Gaza towards the brink of total collapse.

It confirmed that the reconstruction of Gaza will require more than $70 billion and may extend for decades, amid ongoing destruction and the absence of infrastructure capable of rapid recovery.

The report added that the continuous and systematic destruction casts heavy shadows on Gaza's ability to rebuild itself as a livable area in the future, amidst worsening multidimensional poverty and the humanitarian crisis reaching a stage where the UN has declared famine in some areas.

The report also indicated that Gaza's economy contracted by 87 percent during the years 2023/2024, reducing the per capita GDP to only $161, one of the lowest recorded rates globally.