Jamal Al-Khudari, the chairman of the popular anti-siege committee, on Thursday, stated in a statement that the losses of the Gaza Strip amounted to about $ 1.5 billion during the year 2020, due to the continuing Israeli blockade. The year 2020 was the most dangerous ever, and that the continuation of the blockade for the 14th consecutive year brought the humanitarian, health, and economic situation into a tough catastrophic situation, while the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic increased the deterioration of the already exhausted humanitarian situation.

He indicated that the blockade and Coronavirus threaten the food security of about 70% of the Gazan families as more than 85% of the people in Gaza live below the poverty line, while unemployment rates rises to 60%, indicating that more than 350,000 workers are unemployed.

There is as acute shortage of the medical consumables, medicines, and respirators, which represents a severe pressure on the lives of the two million Palestinians living in Gaza.

80% of the factories have been closed since the beginning of the Israeli blockade, while the rate of production in the working factories has decreased to 20%, due to the Israeli occupation and the blockade, the prevent of the entry of necessary raw materials for industry, and the attacks and the restriction of the movement of import and export, while the economic situation of day laborers, commercial shopkeeper, and workshops owners has deteriorated.

Dozens of shops, institutions, and companies shut down their doors during the year 2020 due to their inability to work in light of the economic stagnation and the decline in income levels.

“All this constituted a blow to the Palestinian economy and to the Palestinian families,” Alkhudari confirmed.

In addition, he called on the free world to quickly and urgently move in a moral, humanitarian, and legal movement to save and support Gaza, noting that the world moves to help any country whose health system has collapsed due to the Coronavirus epidemic, but it ignores what is happening in Gaza and what things have reached to.

What awaits Gaza in the new year 2021 cannot be imagined in light of the current data and the continuous humanitarian, health and economic conditions with the blockade.

“World should not wait for what the people of Gaza are waiting for, but rather move urgently and vigorously to save what can be saved," Alkhudari said.

He stressed the need to lift the siege on Gaza because that is the main gateway to overcome the current serious crises, and this requires an international effort and a unified Palestinian plan capable of passing this dangerous situation that the humanitarian situation has reached.