Recent statistics from the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) have revealed that unemployment in Gaza stands at 200,000 people without work. Sami Al-Amasi, PGFTU's President in Gaza, stated this represented a 30,000 person increase since before the war with Israel, a situation that is "the  worst in ten years".
Al-Amasi elaborated, explaining that "during the recent Israeli offensive, Israel destroyed a large number of factories, workshops, companies. As a result, almost 30,000 workers lost their source of living and became unemployed." He added that trade unions are still waiting for Israel to honour the terms of the ceasefire by opening all borders with Gaza in order that reconstruction and a boost to the labour market may begin.
The United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) has equally published statistics that 108,000 Palestinians have been left homeless as a result of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. The bombardment either totally destroyed their houses or damaged them so severely as to render them uninhabitable.
UN OCHA estimates that 17,000 housing units were either destroyed or seriously damaged during the war; a figure that represents 5% of Gaza's housing stock. This latest blow adds to the existing housing crisis before the conflict where overcrowded or inadequate conditions meant another 71,000 housing units were already needed.
Over half of those left homeless remain sheltering in UN schools, with the remaining 50,000 seeking refuge with friends and relatives whose homes were less gravely hit.
Asma al-Rumi is one such victim of homelessness who remains at a UN school in Rafah. “It’s an awful experience” “living here is not a life”, she told Electronicintifada.net on Wednesday.
“Now it is better than before,” she added, referring to the many residents who have returned to intact homes. “Before there were many people, in a small space, with a lot of diseases. It was crowded, with a lot of noise and a lack of clean water. There was only one meal a day. We had to buy the rest ourselves. They didn’t give us enough blankets or mattresses to sleep on.”