section_path: Economy
section_name: Economy
paragraph_text: Economy
  
  During the course of the Israeli occupation, Gaza's economy has gone from a state of under-development with a deep dependency on Israel and strong ties to the West Bank, to a now isolated economy, deprived of the capacity to produce and innovate and subject to the damage of ongoing Israeli military attacks. Gaza's economy is characterized by high levels of unemployment and impoverishment, with over 75% of the population dependent on humanitarian aid. Political economist Sara Roy, the leading authority on the economy of the Gaza Strip, describes the 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza as a turning point in Israeli policy, where previously Israel sought to control and dominate the economy of the Strip to serve its own interests, current policies seek to disable the economy, with the political goal of reducing the demands of the population for national, political and economic rights into a humanitarian problem.
  
  The economy of the Gaza Strip is severely hampered by Egypt and Israel's almost total blockade, and has one of the world's highest population densities, limited land access, strict internal and external security controls, the effects of Israeli military operations, and restrictions on labor and trade access across the border. A 2015 UN report estimated that 72% of the population suffers from food insecurity. Per capita income was estimated at US$3,100 in 2009, a position of 164th in the world. A UN report in 2022 estimated Gaza Strip's unemployment rate to be 45% and 65% of the population under poverty, living standards went down by 27% compared to 2006 and 80% of the population depends on international aid for survival.
  
  Access to essential needs, such as water, is limited, with only 10–25% of households having access to running water on a daily basis, typically for only a few hours a day. Out of "dire necessity", 75–90% of the population relies on unsafe water from unregulated vendors. Accordingly, 26% of disease in Gaza is water related and a 48% prevalence of nitrate poisoning in children. The water shortage in Gaza is a result of Israeli policies and control of aquifers, withholding from Gaza enough water to meet Gaza's needs many times over.
  
  The EU described the Gaza economy in 2013 as follows: "Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 and following the closure imposed by Israel, the situation in the Strip has been one of chronic need, de-development and donor dependency, despite a temporary relaxation on restrictions in movement of people and goods following a flotilla raid in 2010. The closure has effectively cut off access for exports to traditional markets in Israel, transfers to the West Bank and has severely restricted imports. Exports are now down to 2% of 2007 levels."
  
  According to Sara Roy, one senior IDF officer told an UNWRA official in 2015 that Israel's policy towards Gaza consisted of: "No development, no prosperity, no humanitarian crisis."