Economic survival in Gaza decimated by Israeli counts on small initiatives
After more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the daily unbearable churn of mass death and mourning, with homes, hospitals and schools destroyed, the besieged Palestinian territory also faces the fastest and most damaging economic collapse on record.
That is according to the United Nations, which says Gaza’s unemployment rate has reached 80 percent.
Yet despite Israel’s suffocating blockade on the Strip, Palestinians are improvising businesses to survive. For many people, survival now depends on skills and small initiatives, rather than formal jobs.
Widowed and responsible for a household of five, Um Mohammed al-Jarjawi relies on knitting to provide for her family – and sometimes passes on her skills to the next generation. Every day inside her home, al-Jarjawi prepares food for her grandchildren. Moments later, she heads out to work.
“I started learning knitting when I was 10 years old,” she told Al Jazeera. “Later, I attended courses at specialised centres. I discovered that I was skilled at the craft and began training others. “After my husband passed away, I needed to support my household. I focused on working to provide for my family while improving my skills.”
Small-scale businesses have expanded, ranging from solar-powered phone-charging stations to women knitting baby clothes. They provide households with short-term means of survival, but it is not enough to restore economic stability or generate sustainable, protected employment.
With 70 percent of electricity networks destroyed, Gaza’s power system has collapsed, forcing people to improvise. For Wasim al-Yazji, a makeshift solar-powered charging station is a fragile lifeline that provides some income – but cannot solve the power crisis.
“I opened this charging station to help my family with basic needs, some food and small expenses. I try to support my household through it,” al-Yazji told Al Jazeera. His home used to have a supermarket beneath it, but it was destroyed. “My charging station depends on solar panels, so if the sun doesn’t shine, the charging power is weak and I can’t work for days. Sometimes a whole week passes under clouds without any income,” he said.
Wasim al-Yazji stands next to his makeshift charging station
Gaza’s labour market has virtually collapsed, with the UN reporting that the enclave now faces one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. For many young men and women, jobs are nowhere to be found, forcing them to pace the streets or wait endlessly for a chance to work.
“I’ve been looking for a job for months,” Mohammed Shatat told Al Jazeera. “Even temporary work is hard to find. Every day feels the same… I go from place to place, asking, hoping, but there’s nothing.”
Families are finding ways to survive amid the devastation and destruction, but these informal ventures are no solution to the economic crisis: With hundreds of thousands of people still out of work, unemployment remains a tremendous challenge across the Strip.
Gaza waits as reports suggest Rafah crossing may reopen
Palestinians in Gaza have told Al Jazeera they are cautiously optimistic after hearing the Rafah crossing could soon reopen, after more than two years. As Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reports, the crossing represents access to medical care, education, and family reunification.
Qatar slams ‘political blackmail’ as Israel hinders Gaza’s Rafah crossing
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Doha is engaged with mediators to reopen the Rafah crossing into besieged Gaza and deliver aid while Israel creates roadblocks. Communications are ongoing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said at a news conference on Tuesday, although more details were not immediately available.
“We are working with mediator[s] to ensure we reach the second phase of Gaza ceasefire. We demanded that humanitarian aid is not used as a political blackmail,” al-Ansari said. He added that there are a number of “complications” that require effort from all parties to resolve.
This comes amid Israeli reports that Israel and the United States may consider refraining from reopening the crucial crossing on the border with Egypt until the body of the last Israeli held in Gaza is discovered and handed over to Israel.
Reopening the Rafah crossing was a condition of the first phase of the ceasefire that went into effect on October 10. But it has remained closed as humanitarian groups say Israeli restrictions continue to hamper aid deliveries, a clear violation of the agreement.
The crossing had long been Gaza’s only connection to the outside world until the Israeli military occupied the Palestinian side in May 2024. The latest rumour of a potential reopening came on Thursday when the Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Israeli authorities were preparing to reopen the crossing in “both directions” following pressure from US President Donald Trump.
A two-way reopening would mark a shift from an earlier Israeli policy that stated the crossing would open “exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt”. The policy drew condemnation from regional governments, including Egypt and Qatar as officials warned against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
