It could take until the closing years of the century for Gaza’s economy to regain its pre-conflict size if hostilities in the Palestinian enclave were to cease immediately, the UN trade body has said in a published report.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said the conflict had precipitated a 24 per cent contraction in Gaza’s GDP and a 26.1pc drop in GDP per capita for all of 2023.

UNCTAD said that if the military operation were to end and reconstruction to start immediately — and if the growth trend seen in 2007-2022 persisted, at an annual average rate of 0.4pc — Gaza could restore its pre-conflict GDP levels in 2092.

At best, under a scenario that GDP could grow at 10pc annually, it would still take Gaza’s GDP per capita until 2035 to reach the level of 2006, before Israel in 2007 made permanent a land, sea and air blockade citing security concerns.

Read the full Reuters report here.