Gaza, ALRAY - EURO-Mediterranean human rights monitor stated that Israeli military aggression against Gaza last May 2021 had catastrophic economic effects, especially in the productive sector. 

The report issued on Wednesday, Euro-Med noted that the Israeli aggression caused direct and indirect losses that exceeds half a billion dollars in various sectors.

The report entitled “Became Ash” the EURO stated that it documented precise and focused attacks by the occupation army on economic facilities containing factories and various production units, which were directly targeted either by warplane raids or guided artillery shells.

It explained that in addition to targeting the productive facilities across Gaza Strip, Israeli army targeted directly the industrial area in Gaza, which is the biggest productive gather which consists of dozens of factories and companies where hundreds of Palestinian workers work.

Israeli aggression also caused indirect damages, no less dangerous than those caused directly, as it disrupted the economic interests of factories, factories, farms, fishing and other economic businesses, according to the report.

Media Officer at the Euro-Mediterranean Monitor, Noor Alwan  said by reviewing the Israeli army behavior and the used munitions in targeting economic facilities , it became clear that Israeli occupation deliberately targeted the productive sector in Gaza in particular, in order to cause severe and long-term damage to production capabilities, and to undermine any efforts to achieve economic development in the besieged sector for more than 15 years.

On May 10, 2021, the occupation army launched a large-scale military attack on the Gaza Strip that lasted for 11 days, during which it carried out thousands of air and artillery attacks on the small sector, which is crowded with more than 2 million people, that led to the death of 254 Palestinians, including 66 children and 39 women, in addition to destroying thousands of housing units and economic facilities, and extensive damage to infrastructure.

During the military offensive, the Israeli army committed multiple and complex violations, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, through the massive firepower it used against densely populated civilian areas, infringing on a number of basic rights, most notably the right to life, the right to housing, the right to work and earn a living, and the right to property.

The Euro-Mediterranean report pointed out that the direct Israeli attacks caused extensive destruction to economic facilities in Gaza, including the destruction and damage of more than 100 factories, the destruction of residential buildings and towers that include multi-service shops, the targeting of industrial workshops, educational institutions and training centers, and the bombing of agricultural lands, some of them include livestock and poultry farms.

It  pointed out that the destruction and obstruction of the work of factories and production facilities has caused the disruption of thousands of workers from work, and increased the unemployment rate, which is mainly high in the Gaza Strip, reaching about 49% in general, and rising among young people and graduates to more than 67%.

It  called on the Israeli authorities to open a serious investigation into targeting the economic sector in Gaza, to hold the perpetrators accountable, and to work to neutralize civilians, their property and economic facilities during the military attacks.

It called on the UN Security Council to open an investigation into the grave violations committed by the Israeli forces during their attack on the Gaza Strip, including the killing of civilians and targeting of their property, and the deliberate destruction and severe damage to media headquarters, agricultural lands and economic facilities that support and provide services to hundreds of thousands of the civilian population.

It also urged the International Criminal Court to investigate the Israeli attacks on the productive sectors in the Gaza Strip, and to take legal requirements that would prevent impunity for the perpetrators.

The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor renewed its call on the international community to pressure the Israeli authorities to lift the strict restrictions, allow the entry of raw materials needed for the reconstruction process, and compensate the civilian population for the losses they suffered.