Since Gaza has been under Israeli siege and blockade for 15 years and has suffered four full-scale Israeli military operations between 2008 and 2021
Gaza has been under Israeli siege and blockade for 15 years and has suffered four full-scale Israeli military operations between 2008 and 2021People gather at a mosque to pray over the bodies of the Abu Quta family and their neighbours, killed on Sunday in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photograph: Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
Statistics provide a bleak picture. The World Bank reports that 59 per cent of the 2.2 million Palestinians who dwell in the narrow coastal strip live below the poverty line and depend on international support for sustenance. Nearly 70 per cent of the population is under 30, with 22 per cent of jobless being in the 18-29 age group. Unemployment stands at 46.6 and youth unemployment is 63 per cent.
The 1993 Oslo Accord led Palestinians to believe Israel’s occupation would end and a Palestinian state would emerge in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The return of exiled Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the establishment of his headquarters in Gaza, and Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections in 1996 raised Palestinian hopes for a normal life and the opportunity to forge a decent future.
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