Gaza war inflicts over $10bn in costs on neighboring Arab nations: UN
3 Min Read
The UNDP report reveals that the three neighboring nations to Palestine may incur a loss in GDP that would amount to $10.3 billion or 2.3%, and in case the war goes on for another six months, that amount could double.
-
An elementary student waves his country flag outside the office of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (AP)
A UN study shows that the genocide in Gaza on Palestine's neighbors Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan has inflicted costs that could rise to at least $10 billion this year and drive over 230,000 people into poverty.
Commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the report reveals that the three neighboring nations may incur a loss in GDP that would amount to $10.3 billion or 2.3%, and in case the war goes for another six months, that amount could double.
Abdallah Al-Dardari, the UN assistant secretary-general and UNDP's Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS) told Reuters after leading the report, "This is a massive impact," adding, "The crisis was a bomb in an already fragile regional situation... It soured sentiment with fear of what could happen and where things are going."
Read more: Lebanon front open as long as Gaza aggression continues: Sheikh Qassem
The scale of destruction in Gaza, according to Al-Dardari, has been unseen within such a short time since World War Two, and he also pointed out the loss of housing.
"To lose 45-50% of all housing in one month of fighting ... We have never seen anything like this ... the relationship between destruction level and time, it's unique," he said, as he compared the situation to that of Syria.
"It took Syria five years of fighting to reach the same level of destruction that Gaza reached in one month". Al Dardari served as a former minister for economic affairs in Syria.
No time to lose
Al-Dardari confirmed that his team was already in contact with development funds and multilateral financial institutions regarding the reconstruction scenarios for Gaza after the war comes to an end.
"We are not waiting until the battles end... this effort has begun," he expressed.
UN-built and funded schools have been among the institutions destroyed, after being constantly targeted for housing Palestinian refugees since the start of the war on October 7.
Read next: Iran calls on ICC to hold 'Israel' accountable for genocide in Gaza
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, confirmed on Wednesday that one of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees' schools in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza was blown up, failing to hold the Israeli occupation forces responsible for this crime.
"Saw videos of an @UNRWA school in northern #Gaza blown up. It is outrageous. All public facilities, including hospitals & @UN schools are protected under international law," Lazzarini wrote on X after users circulated a video of the Israeli occupation forces destroying the school.
Lazzarini had written a letter to UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis on Friday, foreseeing the eventual loss of lives among his team due to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, which he described as the "darkest hour in the agency's 75-year history."
