Cairo, Egypt - The poverty rate across the Palestinian territories will almost double this year to 74.3% after more than a year of Israeli assault, according to a report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) released Tuesday.

"The immediate consequence of the war, not just in physical infrastructure destruction, but also in terms of poverty, livelihoods and loss of livelihoods, is enormous," Achim Steiner, head of the UNDP, told AFP.

The poverty rate had been 38.8% at the end of 2023, but another 2.61 million Palestinians fell into poverty this year, bringing the total to 4.1 million.

"It's quite clear from this socio-economic assessment, that the level of destruction has set back the state of Palestine by years, if not decades, in terms of its development pathway," Steiner said.

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The study estimates that this year, unemployment in the Palestinian territories could rise to 49.9% and that GDP will be 35.1% lower than without the genocide in Gaza.

He said that even if humanitarian aid is delivered each year, the Palestinian economy will not return to its pre-crisis levels for a decade or more.

Recovery will also require support to rebuild destroyed capital and the lifting of "stifling economic conditions."

The study says Israel's bombing campaign created 42 million tons of rubble in Gaza, bringing major health risks. The destruction of solar panels is particularly dangerous given the lead and other heavy metals they release.

Israel's bombing and ground invasion of Gaza have killed at least 42,603 people in the last year, according to data from the territory's health ministry. The British medical journal Lancet and other experts believe the true number to be far greater, potentially upwards of 186,000 as of July.