National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza 2014-2017_FINAL

38The National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza 2014SECTION 3: GAZA RAPID ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES AND NEEDSImpact of the AssaultThe agricultural sector was directly targeted by during the July/August assault: 30 percent of agricultural land was damaged.Much of the best agricultural land was part of the operational area of the Israeli military and is assumed to be contaminated byERWs. These will need to be cleared before farmers can be confident of working their land safely.An estimated 40 percent of livestock died: half the poultry stock and hundreds of sheep and cows perished in the bombardmentor from lack of feed and water, when owners could not access their farms. A large number of the irrigation wells, irrigationsystems, greenhouses, productive trees, post-harvest facilities, and agricultural equipment were also targeted and destroyed.The areas most affected in the agricultural sector are Khan Younis, followed by Rafah, Gaza, North Gaza, and Middle Gaza.The fishery sector was also greatly affected: fishermen could not access the sea for the duration for the assault and many boatswere destroyed. In the first month of the assault, nine percent of the annual catch was lost, impacting the already limited,protein-low Gaza diet.3.3.2 Industry and ManufacturingPrior to the AssaultThe industrial sector in Gaza is mainly comprised of small and medium sized firms representing 94 percent of the total industrialenterprises in Gaza. Over 50 percent of enterprises across the industrial, furniture, garment, textile, and agribusiness sectors wereclosed over recent years due to a combination of physical damage inflicted by the conflicts and deteriorating market conditionscaused by trade restrictions. The Palestinian Federation of Industries (PFI) reports that the number of industrial workers droppedfrom 350,000 in 2005 to less than 15,000 in mid-2013, which is a strong indication of the shrinking industrial base in Gaza.Electricity has become the top binding constraint reported by Palestinian firms in Gaza, second only to political instability. Theblockade halted Gaza’s exports, virtually ending the operations of key export sectors: the number of truckloads that currently exitGaza is less than four percent of the pre-blockade 2006 rate and one percent of the 2000 rate, averaging one truck only everytwo days in 2013 and 2014.Impact of the AssaultGaza’s weakened industrial firms suffered both direct and indirect losses as a result of the assault. In total, 990 industrial enterpriseswere impacted: 297 factories and workshops were destroyed and 693 were partially damaged. The construction industry sufferedthe biggest losses, making up 28 percent of damaged industries, while the greatest concentration of damage was in Gaza City,where 68 percent of the damaged industries were located. Many industrial facilities had to suspend their production because ofpower and fuel shortages. In turn, the closure of facilities and suspension of production resulted in dismissal of workers becausefirms were unable to pay wages.Although companies in the Gaza Industrial Estate (GIE) were not directly targeted, infrastructure at the GIE was damaged, restrictingthe operations of firms within the estate even after the assault.