Justice Forum Documents the Widespread Destruction of Gaza’s Industrial Sector and the Undermining of Its Economic and Productive Foundations

Istanbul – 27 August 2026

The International Justice Forum Against Genocide has released a new legal and economic report in Arabic, English and Turkish entitled “The Destruction of Gaza’s Industrial Sector.” The report documents the scale of destruction inflicted on factories, production facilities and industrial infrastructure across the Gaza Strip during the war, analyses its economic and humanitarian consequences, and examines the legal characterization of attacks on industrial facilities under international humanitarian law and international criminal law.

The report reveals widespread and unprecedented destruction of Gaza’s industrial base, affecting the food, construction, plastics, pharmaceutical, chemical and electrical industries, as well as small and medium-sized factories, workshops, warehouses, production lines, raw materials, energy facilities and services connected to the production process. This has resulted in the near-total paralysis of local industrial activity.

According to preliminary estimates cited in the report, approximately 90% of Gaza’s industrial sector has sustained partial or total damage, while between 90% and 95% of industrial facilities have ceased operations as a result of direct destruction, electricity outages, or restrictions on the entry of fuel and raw materials. The report also cites estimates indicating that more than 5,000 economic establishments have been damaged or destroyed, including large factories, workshops and small-scale craft enterprises.

Based on a field survey covering 893 industrial establishments, the report states that all facilities included in the sample sustained damage to varying degrees. Of these, 56% were completely destroyed, 27% suffered severe partial damage, and 17% sustained partial damage. Direct losses among the establishments that responded to the survey were estimated at approximately US$785 million.

The report further cites estimates indicating that the total direct losses suffered by industrial establishments in the Gaza Strip reached approximately US$5 billion as of July 2024, including damage to buildings, equipment, raw materials, vehicles and finished products. Approximately 78% of industrial damage was concentrated in Gaza City and the northern governorates. Industrial activity also declined by 92% during the final quarter of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.