The International Forum for Genocide Justice (IFGGJ) has released a new human rights and economic report in Arabic, English, and Turkish entitled “The Destruction of the Industrial Sector in Gaza.” The report documents the extent of the damage inflicted on factories, production facilities, and industrial infrastructure in the Gaza Strip during the war. It analyzes the economic and humanitarian repercussions and examines the targeting of industrial facilities in light of the rules of international humanitarian law and international criminal law.
The report reveals widespread and unprecedented destruction of the industrial base in the Gaza Strip, encompassing food, construction, plastics, pharmaceutical, chemical, and electrical industries, as well as small and medium-sized factories and workshops, warehouses, production lines, raw materials, energy facilities, and services related to the production process. This has led to a near-total paralysis of local industrial activity.
The report indicates that initial estimates suggest that approximately 90% of the industrial sector in Gaza suffered partial or total damage, while between 90% and 95% of industrial facilities ceased operations due to direct destruction, power outages, or the prevention of fuel and raw material entry. The report also estimates that more than 5,000 economic facilities, including large factories, workshops and small craft establishments, have been damaged or destroyed.
Based on a field survey of 893 industrial facilities, the report indicates that all the surveyed facilities sustained varying degrees of damage. 56% suffered total destruction, 27% sustained severe partial damage, and 17% sustained partial damage. Direct losses to the surveyed facilities were estimated at approximately US$785 million.
The report also estimates that total direct losses to industrial facilities in the Gaza Strip reached approximately US$5 billion by July 2024. This includes buildings, equipment, raw materials, transportation, and finished products. Around 78% of the industrial damage was concentrated in Gaza City and the northern governorates. Furthermore, the industrial sector experienced a 92% decline in employment levels during the last quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
