The head of the government media office in the Gaza Strip, Salama Marouf, said that the Gaza Strip suffered $3 billion in direct and indirect losses as a result of the Israeli aggression, which affected commercial and economic establishments, civilian homes, government and civil headquarters, and infrastructure, in a preliminary estimate of the size of the losses due to the ongoing aggression since the 7th of May. Last October.

Maarouf’s speech came yesterday evening, Tuesday, during a press conference in which he talked about the extent of the damage that the Gaza Strip suffered. During the conference, he accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of abandoning its responsibilities towards the residents of the northern Gaza Strip.

Marouf said, “What UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini expressed of his shock at the occupation forces’ continued bombing of Gaza, and that the level of destruction was unprecedented, is an international acknowledgment of the crimes of the occupation and the Holocaust committed against the people of Gaza.”

Economic destruction

A few days ago, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) revealed that the Gaza Strip has been exposed to unprecedented destruction and economic repercussions as a result of the aggression it is being subjected to by the occupation, and alerted to astonishing numbers stating that almost all of Gaza’s population, or an estimated 96%, live They are now in poverty and suffering multiple forms of deprivation due to the current war.

ESCWA stated, in a report published last Thursday, that the current aggression against Gaza - in addition to the siege that was imposed on it over the past years - has plunged the population into an unprecedented spiral of deprivation and multidimensional poverty, and then into a humanitarian disaster at all levels.

According to the UN report, the Gaza Strip was not experiencing a normal situation before the war, as the siege imposed on it since 2007 is the most dangerous manifestation of Israel’s long-term policies of restricting the movement of Palestinians, which amounts to collective punishment.

The report explained that after the seventh of last October, Gazans live under continuous violent bombardment that not only causes physical destruction, but also deprives them of access to basic services such as life-saving health care, water, food, electricity, education, and employment.

The report concluded by saying, “Even in the event of a ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a large percentage of the population will remain trapped for several years in a cycle of poverty and deprivation. This is mainly due to the massive loss of life, the huge number of wounded, and the loss of human capital and human capabilities. And the destruction of social and economic infrastructure.

During the current aggression, the Israeli occupation army intensified its bombing of the industrial sector and facilities in the Gaza Strip, and continued to destroy the remaining infrastructure, which has witnessed 6 military operations in the past 15 years.

Since October 7, all factories have closed their doors, while neither the Palestinian Ministry of Economy nor the Businessmen Association have any statistics on the extent of the destruction, due to the inability of the crews to move.

The destruction also included the communications sector - which is one of the pillars of industry in Gaza - which was also a target of the Israeli bombing. Communications failed and the Internet stopped.

The bombing caused complete destruction in some areas and partial destruction in other areas within the Strip, including poles, cables, and fiber-optic lines that connect Gaza internally.

On the 26th day of the war on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli bombing continues on several areas in the Strip, leaving more martyrs. As of yesterday, Tuesday, the total number of martyrs reached 8,525, including 3,542 children and 2,187 women, in addition to 22,000 injured. This was in its war in response to the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation launched by the Palestinian resistance led by the Al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of the Hamas movement),