Gaza_15 years of blockade

Looking back at the last 15 years of blockade and repeated cycles of violence bringing death and destruction in their wake, Gaza has experienced momentous de-development, severely impacting normal daily life for all residents and restricting their basic human rights. The statistics are staggering. Today, 81.5 per cent of individual in Gaza, 71 per cent of whom are Palestine refugees, live below the national poverty line. Sixty-four percent are food insecure.  The unemployment rate in 2021 stood at 47 per cent, with the overall youth unemployment rate at 64 per cent. In 2020, the per capita GDP stood at US$ 1,049, which is four times lower than in the West Bank and Jordan. As a consequence, today, 80 per cent of the population depends on humanitarian assistance. Among them are 1.1 million Palestine refugees receiving food assistance from UNRWA, up from just 80,000 in 2000. That is a shocking 1,324 per cent increase!   Between 2007 and 2022, 292 of the water wells in Gaza used for both domestic consumption and farmlands were damaged or destroyed by Israeli Security Forces. Eighty-one percent of water extracted from Gaza aquifers does not meet WHO water quality.   While the economic consequences are obvious and disastrous, this is not just about economics; there is also a tremendous societal cost that is seeing the social fabric of Palestinians lives in Gaza unravel and the mental health of its residents, particularly children and youth, decline at an alarming rate.  

In an effort to mitigate the worst impact of this untenable situation, UNRWA provides food assistance and offers its holistic approach to tackling the multi-dimensional nature of poverty, including providing access to free primary health care, livelihood opportunities, social services and shelter and environmental health. To address the mental health of the youngest, UNRWA holds annual Gaza Summer Fun Games to provide children with a protective environment at UNRWA schools to play and just have fun.

 


 

Said Lolo, a former public relations professional, shows the hot beverages he sells for 17 hours a day © 2022 UNRWA Photo by Mohamed Hinnawi
7:00 am- Said Lolo walks from a nearby factory building, where he spent the night
Mahmoud gathers with his wife and some of his children in the courtyard of his house near Khan Younis. © 2022 UNRWA Photo by Heba Kureizm
“When I stopped working, I could no longer make the rent I owed the landlord. I heard from people about this area we live in now, and because of the miserable...
The Gaza Summer Fun Weeks, which were launched last week in the presence of the UNRWA Chief of Staff, Ben Majekodunmi and the Officer-in-Charge of UNRWA...
On occasion of the 15th anniversary of the start of the blockade on Gaza, OXFAM in Jerusalem (in collaboration with the UN Humanitarian Country Team, AIDA and...
UNRWA Chief of Staff, Ben Majekodunmi (centre), the Deputy Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, Jenifer Austin (left), and senior UNRWA staff launch Summer Fun Weeks in Gaza on 27 June 2022. © 2022 UNRWA Photo by Mohammed Hinnawi.
UNRWA held the official inauguration ceremony for the Gaza Summer Fun Weeks (SFWs) 2022, which run between 25 June and 28 July. The ceremony was held at the...
crisis category: