Humanitarian, social, economic, environmental, health, educational, & nutritional catastrophe

Source : Democracy and Workers'Rights Center Palestine - here, Labor & Trade Union Newsletter in Palestine ; May - June 2025 # (33) -

For the past 21 months, Palestine has faced a humanitarian, social, economic, environmental, health, educational, & nutritional catastrophe, leading to a shrinkage of its population, its productive base and a distortion of the Palestinian economic structure.

• 2.1 million persons have been forced into barely 15% of the Gaza Strip & 90% of the population has been forcibly displaced several times; in the West Bank, over 42,000 persons have been displaced.

• 59,219 Palestinians have been killed & 143,045 injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023 (Gaza MOH); at least a 1000 Palestinians have been killed & 9000 injured by the Israeli occupying army & settlers in West Bank.

• Israel has systematically destroyed the health system & facilities in Gaza, has killed about 1,580 health workers in their homes or on-duty & arrested 360 health workers, systematically mistreated and/or tortured, such as hospital director Husam Abu Safiyeh, who is denied medical treatment and has lost 40 kg in Israeli detention.

• On May 12, the World Food Program released a report indicating that “470,000 people in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5), and the entire population is experiencing acute food insecurity” adding that “an alarming 71,000 children and more than 17,000 mothers will need urgent treatment for acute malnutrition”.

• By end of 2024, Gaza’s GDP had contracted by more than 82% & declined by 19% in the West Bank. Unemployment rates reached 80% in Gaza & 35% in the West Bank. Overall, there was a 28% decline in the Palestinian economy, accompanied by an increase in the unemployment rate to 51%. In 2025, the unemployment rate in the West Bank continued to be sky-high, at 31%.

• Daily income loss due to job losses & decline in income of public and private sector employees is estimated at US$21.7 million per day; as of May 2024, total arrears owed to public sector employees amounted to US$1.18 billion. • Thousands of Palestinian workers have been subjected to arrest, interrogation & harassment by Israeli police & army since October 2023. 56 workers have been killed in 2024 trying to earn a livelihood, including victims of work accidents & those killed while trying to reach their workplaces.

Israel continues using STARVATION as a weapon of war against Gaza’s population:

For weeks, Israel has prevented entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, causing widespread famine and rendering people desperate for food, while the weakest and most vulnerable started dying of malnutrition. Then the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” aid distribution points were established, where men, women and children are mercilessly gunned down on a daily basis, while trying to access food aid. Since May 27, more than 1000 persons have been killed and 5,432 injured (MOH data) while desperately trying to obtain food packages from aid sites. As of 22 July, the Gaza MOH had documented 101 deaths from malnutrition, including 80 children; it is recording growing numbers of daily deaths from hunger in hospitals.

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The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center in Palestine

Emile Touma St., Al-Masayef, Ramallah

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