Palestinians lose jobs amid latest flare-up

The International Labour Organization, or ILO, is demanding unhindered humanitarian access and aid to civilians in Palestine after 390,000 jobs were lost since the latest flare-up in the Israel-Palestine conflict that began a month ago.

In a bulletin issued on Monday, titled "The Impact of the current Israel-Hamas conflict on the labor market and livelihoods in the occupied Palestinian territory," the ILO said that at least 61 percent of employment, or an equivalent of 182,000 jobs, has been lost in the Gaza Strip over the past month, amid a deadly bombing campaign and new blockades by Israel.

Spillover effect

The bulletin also noted that the Gaza conflict was having a "spillover effect in the West Bank", where an estimated 24 percent of employment, equivalent to 208,000 jobs, has been lost over the same period.

ILO Regional Director for Arab States Ruba Jaradat said its initial assessment of the repercussions of the current crisis on the Palestinian labor market has shown "extremely worrying results" and may worsen if the conflict persists.

She also said the current conflict represented a social and economic crisis, having caused vast damage to jobs and businesses "with reverberations that will be felt for many years to come".

Even prior to the current conflict, the situation in Gaza was particularly dire "as a result of a 17-year-old blockade imposed on the enclave", and Gazans have long grappled with persistently high rates of poverty, unemployment and vulnerability.

Jaradat reiterated a call by the ILO governing body to promptly allow and facilitate — in keeping with international humanitarian law — a full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access for the sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians throughout Gaza.

Most neighborhoods in Gaza have been destroyed with infrastructure severely damaged following the Israeli bombardment, which is ongoing. Many businesses have closed and large-scale internal displacement of about 1.5 million people has occurred, according to United Nations figures published on Tuesday.

After pressure from the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed openness in an interview with ABC News that aired late on Monday to "little pauses" in the fighting to facilitate the release of some of the captives seized by Hamas.

Netanyahu also said Israel will have "overall security responsibility" in Gaza for an indefinite period after its conflict with Hamas.

But Netanyahu ruled out any general cease-fire without the release of all the hostages.

Agencies contributed to this story.