UN Warns of Gaza‘s “Survival at Stake,” Calls for $70 Billion Recovery Plan
The United Nations has expressed alarm over the dire situation in Gaza, stating its “survival is at stake,” and is calling for a “thorough recovery plan” with an estimated $70 billion price tag. A new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Progress (UNCTAD) details the extensive damage inflicted by Israeli military operations,asserting they have “eaten away all the pillars of survival” – including food,housing,and healthcare – and “plunged” the territory “into a man-made abyss.”
The UNCTAD report states that Gaza has been pushed “from a situation of underdevelopment too that of total ruin” and raises serious doubts about its capacity to rebuild “as a living space and society.” Even with optimistic growth projections and substantial foreign aid, the report estimates it will take decades for Gaza to return to its pre-October 2023 quality of life.
UNCTAD is urging coordinated international aid, the restoration of fiscal transfers from Israel to Gaza, and the easing of restrictions on trade, travel, and investment. The agency specifically proposes the implementation of a worldwide basic income for all Gaza residents, delivered as a renewable, unconditional monthly cash aid program.
The report also highlights a importent economic decline in the West Bank, attributing it to violence, settlement expansion, and restrictions on labor mobility – the worst economic downturn recorded by UNCTAD since 1972.
