After two years of war, Gaza’s once-bustling economy lies in ruins. Streets that used to echo with the hum of factories and chatter of markets now stand silent. But amid the rubble, Palestinian entrepreneurs have one eye on the future.
With fighting much reduced in the enclave by a ceasefire struck last month, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been returning to their homes. Though much of Gaza lies devastated, industrialists and small traders vow that reconstruction is possible, if the world allows it to happen.
“The spirit of Gaza is unbreakable,” said Aed Abu Ramadan, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Gaza city. “Our factories can rise again. Our people can work again. But we cannot do it alone.”
Gaza's economic calamity is stark – infrastructure has been wiped out, entire sectors paralysed, factories flattened, while tens of thousands of workers are jobless.
Mr Abu Ramadan told The National that more than 85 per cent of the workforce is unemployed, and poverty exceeds 90 per cent. Most families are unable to meet even their basic needs.
“The war has led to the complete collapse of Gaza’s economic system,” he added. “At one point, prices rose by as much as 527 per cent. Imports and exports came to a standstill, supply chains collapsed, and prices for basic goods reached levels we’ve never seen.”
According to Ismail Al Thawabta, director of Gaza's government media office, economic losses across the enclave exceed $13 billion. This includes $4 billion in the industrial sector, $4.3 billion in the trade and services sector, $2.8 billion in agriculture and $2 billion in tourism.
“The industrial sector was hit first,” he said. “Factories were targeted and production completely stopped, leading to severe shortages of goods in the market.”
More than 92 per cent of Gaza’s farmland and more than 1,200 agricultural wells have been destroyed, crippling the local food supply. “Israel also demolished 665 livestock farms,” Mr Al Thawabta said. “This has worsened hunger and malnutrition among our people.”
For many of Gaza’s entrepreneurs, the destruction has been deeply personal.
“I live today in a tent with my four children,” Ihab Abu Taimeh, 54, from Khan Younis, told The National. “Just days before the war began in October 2023, I owned a large vehicle and heavy machinery workshop, along with a metalworking factory in northern Gaza.”
The plant, inherited from his father, was a thriving business employing more than 20 workers. “We were comfortable, we had homes, jobs and security,” he said. “Now we have nothing. Everything is gone – the factory, the houses, even hope.” He estimated his losses at about $1 million.
Mr Abu Taimeh said the war has drained business owners “financially, physically and mentally”. Even with the ceasefire, he believes “bigger wars still await us, wars of rebuilding and survival”.
For Moaz Hameed, 35, from Gaza city, the conflict has been equally dire. “The fighting didn’t just destroy our homes, it destroyed our businesses, our trade, and everything we built for years,” he said.
Before the war, Mr Hameed’s family ran a chain of grocery stores in the Sheikh Radwan and Beach Camp markets, importing food and coffee to supply retailers across the enclave. “All of it was wiped out,” he said. “Our warehouses in western Gaza were burnt down. Years of work turned into ashes.”
He estimates his family’s losses at more than $1 million.
But while the setbacks to Gaza's economy have been catastrophic, many forward-thinking businesspeople already have designs on reconstruction.
Mr Hameed said any real recovery must begin with the entry of raw materials, industrial supplies, solar energy systems and construction equipment. “Without reopening crossings and restoring production lines, there can be no life in Gaza’s economy,” he warned.
“The market is now completely different – new prices, new taxes, new challenges,” he added. “But we’re determined to rebuild. We just need political clarity and access to goods again.”
Saber Hanouneh, 49, said he clings to a dream of rebuilding his shampoo and cleaning materials factory that was destroyed twice during the war. He estimates his losses exceed half a million dollars, while his 10 employees are now out of work.
“But I won’t stop,” said Mr Hanouneh. “I founded the factory 25 years ago. It was my life’s work. If we return home, I’ll rebuild, stronger than before. All we need is support, open crossings, and a real reconstruction process.
“We have the determination to keep working until our last breath.”
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
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%3Cp%3EFly%20with%20Etihad%20Airways%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20New%20York%E2%80%99s%20JFK.%20There's%2011%20flights%20a%20week%20and%20economy%20fares%20start%20at%20around%20Dh5%2C000.%3Cbr%3EStay%20at%20The%20Mark%20Hotel%20on%20the%20city%E2%80%99s%20Upper%20East%20Side.%20Overnight%20stays%20start%20from%20%241395%20per%20night.%3Cbr%3EVisit%20NYC%20Go%2C%20the%20official%20destination%20resource%20for%20New%20York%20City%20for%20all%20the%20latest%20events%2C%20activites%20and%20openings.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m; Winner: Ghaiyyath, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Cliffs Of Capri, Tadhg O’Shea, Jamie Osborne.
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Zakouski, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
