Days Of Palestine – Gaza

The monthly economic losses in the besieged Gaza Strip have grown to 100 million US dollars because of 13 years of Israeli blockade, the Popular Committee Against the Siege said.

"The crises of the economic sector are directly caused by the Israeli siege imposed on the coastal enclave since 2007," said Jamal al-Khudari, head of the Committee.

"4,000 factories, workshops, shops and companies have closed or shrunk their activities by more than 80 percent of their operational capacity during the years of the Israeli siege," he told reporters.

Al-Khudari said the remaining companies, shops, factories, and economic facilities are currently operating with less than 50 percent of their operational capacity, causing high rates of poverty and unemployment.

He also said that 85 percent of the Gazans live under the poverty line, appealing to the international community to pressure Israel to end its blockade on Gaza.