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Economic Analyses 25 December, 2024

Gaza: Economic Collapse and Humanitarian Catastrophe

Meriem Heni

Research Assistant at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. Graduate of the master's program in Economic Development at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and a bachelor's in Business Administration at the American University. She has worked in business and data analysis, and her research focuses on food security and climate change in the Arab region.

Sara Cherqaoui

Ph.D. candidate in Development Economics at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. She holds a Master’s in Islamic Finance from Hamad Bin Khalifa University and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton. Her doctoral research spans applied microeconomics, labor economics, and gender studies, focusing on the impact of social reforms on women's labor market outcomes. Sara has experience as a Research Fellow with the UNDP and as a Research Assistant at the Doha Institute. She is particularly interested in development economics and emerging issues, including labor reforms, food security, climate change, and sustainability, exploring their implications for sustainable development and inclusive growth.

It has been a year since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began, leaving behind a trail of unprecedented destruction and a deepening humanitarian catastrophe that continues to devastate the lives of millions. The war continues to inflict catastrophic damage on Gaza’s economy andacrobat Icon infrastructure, plunging the territory into a severe humanitarian and economic crisis. This scale of destruction has not only disrupted daily life but also shattered prospects for economic stability and recovery. According to a recent report by the World Bank and the United Nations, the damage to Gaza’s critical infrastructure is estimated at $18.5 billion, an amount equivalent to 97% of the combined GDP of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022. This economic analysis examines the entangled economic and humanitarian crises, with a particular focus on the implications of Israel’s UNRWA ban on food security in Gaza, while exploring pathways to recovery and resilience amidst the extensive destruction.