Gaza’s recovery needs reach $71.5bn amid ‘most severe economic crisis’: UN
News Source
•Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:03:31 +0000
📰 What Happened
A new United Nations report says Gaza needs about $71.5 billion to recover and rebuild. The UN's trade body, UNCTAD, says the real cost will probably be higher.
The report calls Gaza's economy the worst crisis ever recorded. It says 92 percent of businesses in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began in October 2023.
More than 90 percent of working-age people in Gaza have no job. Income per person fell to about $212 a year, which is about 58 cents a day. Almost everyone there now depends on aid to live.
🔍 The Backstory
The report points to 59 years of Israeli occupation, which it says has held back the Palestinian economy. It says the war made those problems far worse.
Israel has held back tax money it collects for the Palestinian Authority. The report says more than $3.67 billion was withheld or deducted between 2019 and March 2026.
Public debt has reached $4.8 billion. Resource shortages have forced West Bank schools to cut in-person classes to three days a week. The report warns that a collapse of the banks is no longer just a theory.
🎯 Why It Matters
Rebuilding Gaza will take years of outside money and work. Until then, around two million people will keep living without proper homes or working hospitals.
A new United Nations report says Gaza needs about $71.5 billion to recover and rebuild. The UN's trade body, UNCTAD, says the real cost will probably be higher.
The report calls Gaza's economy the worst crisis ever recorded. It says 92 percent of businesses in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began in October 2023.
More than 90 percent of working-age people in Gaza have no job. Income per person fell to about $212 a year, which is about 58 cents a day. Almost everyone there now depends on aid to live.
The report points to 59 years of Israeli occupation, which it says has held back the Palestinian economy. It says the war made those problems far worse.
Israel has held back tax money it collects for the Palestinian Authority. The report says more than $3.67 billion was withheld or deducted between 2019 and March 2026.
Public debt has reached $4.8 billion. Resource shortages have forced West Bank schools to cut in-person classes to three days a week. The report warns that a collapse of the banks is no longer just a theory.
Rebuilding Gaza will take years of outside money and work. Until then, around two million people will keep living without proper homes or working hospitals.