UN report: Gaza could take 350 years to rebuild under blockade

A new report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warns that it could take 350 years for Gaza to recover economically if the blockade remains in place.

The report, released Monday, suggests that even if the war ends and Gaza returns to conditions before 7 October 2023, attack on Israel, the region’s economy would struggle to restore its already fragile pre-war state.

The report states that a ceasefire alone won’t lead to recovery, noting, “A return to the pre-October 2023 status quo would not put Gaza on the path needed for recovery and sustainable development."

The report goes on to explain that if Gaza’s growth rate, which averaged 0.4 percent between 2007 and 2022, remains unchanged, it could take 350 years to return to the GDP levels of 2022.

The report's author, Rami Alazzeh, calculated this projection based on the extensive damage to Gaza’s economy during the early months of the war and how long it would take to rebuild at historical growth rates.

He emphasised that "the recovery in Gaza depends on the conditions in which the recovery would happen."