Unemployment is a nightmare for all university graduates in Gaza. Studying so hard and being so ambitious, I never imagined myself one day without work, Ghada Hania writes. Yet after graduation, I searched a lot for jobs, and tried to volunteer at institutions to get experience. But all my efforts were in vain. I mumbled to myself, “Never can I accept such a spectacular failure anymore.” I decided in that moment to follow my passions.

Global consumer inflation has caused food prices in Gaza to hike, making staple products in grocery stores unaffordable and worrying shop owners about the cost of restocking.

Many Palestinians in Gaza with post-graduate degrees struggle to find even some form of underemployment. And the most highly specialized workforce is leaving, if they can.

Friends warned Sabreen al-Jabary opening a dress shop in the Gaza Strip was risky as the shopfront, her home, is located in a far from upscale or middle class areas. Her house is next to a cemetery. Customers would be hard to arrange. But she has no choice.