Gaza's gross domestic product dropped by nearly 86 per cent in the first half of the year due to Israel’s attacks, which have caused extensive destruction, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.
IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack told a news briefing that the West Bank's first-half GDP had declined 25 per cent, with a possibility of further drop.
While Israel's economy shrank by about 20 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, and although there has been some recovery, it remained only partial during the January-June period, she said.
“The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond,” Ms Kozack said.
Poverty is affecting almost the entire population of Gaza and is rapidly increasing in the West Bank. By early 2024, almost 82 per cent of private sector establishments in Gaza were either damaged or completely destroyed.
Ninety-six per cent of private sector businesses in the West Bank experienced declining sales, and 42.1 per cent reported a reduction in the number of employees reporting to work, UN Trade and Development said in a report last month.
An estimated 200,000 jobs have been lost in the Gaza Strip, while 144,000 people are no longer employed in the occupied West Bank as a result of the violence.
Ms Kozack said the Washington-based lender is also monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with “grave concern”. Israel on Tuesday launched a ground invasion in Lebanon in its offensive against Hezbollah.
“In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation,” she said. “The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure.”
The IMF is expected to update its economic projections this month after its meetings with the World Bank.
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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