Gaza Media Office: The unemployment rate in the Strip has risen to 75 percent 

Occupied Al-Quds, (ST) – The Gaza Media Office affirmed that workers in Gaza Strip are living in unprecedented conditions as a result of the Israeli occupation’s ongoing aggression for seven months, which has caused the unemployment rate to rise to 75 percent and the poverty rate to more than 90 percent, in addition to the repercussions of the ongoing siege for the 18th year in a row.

The office said on Wednesday in a statement: The occasion of International Labor Day this year comes in harsh humanitarian conditions that workers in Gaza Strip are experiencing in an unprecedented way and at a time when the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing continues. It added that the Israeli occupation killed thousands of workers  and the unemployment rate reached 75 percent at the beginning of this year, compared to 46 percent before the war.

“There are also more than 200,000 people who lost their jobs during the first 3 months of the war, including nearly 5,000 fishermen, as the occupation imposes a stifling siege and prevents fishermen from fishing in the sea, and even shoots and kills them directly, the office added.”

The office indicated that the poverty rate rose to more than 90 percent in Gaza Strip coinciding with the disastrous war conditions, and 95 percent of economic establishments have stopped working completely due to bombing, destruction, genocidal war, and the repercussions of the unjust siege that has extended for 18 years.

The office clarified that the direct initial losses of the genocidal war on Gaza Strip were estimated at $33 billion, as the occupation destroyed most of the work sectors in Gaza. It indicated that the American administration and the international community bear responsibility for the inhumane conditions experienced by Gaza Strip workers on their International Day.

The office called on the countries of the free world and international organizations to live up to their responsibilities to stop the genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip.

It also called for working to provide direct support to the workers, especially those who lost their businesses and jobs due to the war.

Raghda Sawas