Gaza’s economy has shrunk to less than a sixth of its size when the Israel-Hamas conflict began nearly a year ago, while unemployment in the occupied West Bank has nearly tripled, a UN report has said, underscoring the challenges of reconstruction.

The report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) described Gaza’s economy as “in ruins” more than 11 months after Israel launched a military campaign there that has reduced much of the Strip to rubble in response to the deadly October 7 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas fighters.

The UN trade body said the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, is under “immense pressure” that is jeopardising its ability to function.

“The Palestinian economy is in freefall,” UNCTAD Deputy Secretary General Pedro Manuel Moreno told reporters in Geneva.

“The report calls for the international community to halt this economic freefall, address the humanitarian crisis, and lay the groundwork for lasting peace and development,” he said, calling for a comprehensive recovery plan.

Declining international aid and revenue deductions and withholdings by Israel — which UNCTAD estimated at more than $1.4 billion since 2019 — are adding to the strain on the Palestinians, the report said.