The poverty rate across the Palestinian territories will almost double this year to 74.3 per cent after months of fighting in Gaza, according to a report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

“The immediate consequence of the war, not just in physical infrastructure destruction, but also in terms of poverty, livelihoods and loss of livelihoods, is enormous,” Achim Steiner, head of the UNDP, told AFP.

“It’s quite clear from this socio-economic assessment, that the level of destruction has set back the state of Palestine by years, if not decades, in terms of its development pathway,” Steiner said.