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Child labour has risen sharply in听Gaza, where youngsters toiling in garages and on construction听sites have become breadwinners for families feeling the brunt of听the Palestinian enclave鈥檚 43% unemployment rate.

In the past five years, the number of working children听between the ages of 10 and 17 has doubled to 9700 in the听territory, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.

The bureau said 2900 of those children are below the legal听employment age of 15. Economists in the narrow coastal strip,听home to 1.9 million Palestinians, estimate the real number of听underage workers could be twice as high.

The increase in Gaza goes against trends. The says the worldwide number of children in听labour has fallen by a third since 2000, from 246 million to 168听million, with more than a fifth in sub-Saharan Africa.

At one garage in downtown Gaza, 16-year-old Mahmoud Yazji听and another boy, aged 12, work nine hours a day. Mahmoud said he听earns the equivalent of $13 a week; the younger boy takes home听half of that.

Students take exams in Gaza City 鈥� but many are missing out

鈥淢y father makes 1000 shekels ($258) a month. It disappears听in a few days and we struggle for the rest of the month,鈥澨齅ahmoud said.

Haitham Khzaiq, 16, quit school six months ago to sell candy听apples to visitors at Gaza鈥檚 newly developed seaport, a major听picnic venue. He works a half-day, seven days a week, and said听he earns a total of 20 shekels ($5).

鈥淲e are five brothers and eight sisters. I am the oldest son听and I had to work because my father is unemployed,鈥� he said. 听鈥淚 don鈥檛 earn enough but it is better than nothing and it is听better than begging people for money.鈥�

A devastating 2014 war between Palestinian militants and听Israel, border restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt and the听destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels by an Egyptian听government at odds with Gaza鈥檚 Hamas rulers have contributed to听economic hardship in the territory.

The United Nations estimates that 80% of the听population is aid-dependent, with unemployment rising to its听current level from around 35% five years ago.

鈥淪ome people are living like kings and many others like us听are hardly finding anything to eat,鈥� said 10-year-old Mohammed,听who sells potato chips on the street and began working after his听father, a construction labourer, lost his job.

Gaza children at a school for displaced families during the 2014 conflict Picture: UNICEF/d鈥橝ki

A gap is evident on the Gaza beachfront, where child vendors听lugging trays of tea, coffee and snacks mingle with other听children using expensive cellphones to record their family听picnics. Several smart hotels overlook the port and beachfront.

A Dutch-funded organisation, , has been running a project for three years aimed听at convincing families in Gaza of the importance of returning听working children to the classroom.

鈥淲e are very worried. We feel children鈥檚 rights are being听trampled on,鈥� said Naeem al-Ghalban, who heads the society.

Its representatives visit the homes of working children they听meet on the street and invite them to guidance sessions at the听organisation鈥檚 headquarters. Children are taken for visits to听Gaza鈥檚 colleges to show them what could lie ahead if they go听back to school.

Ghalban said that, over the past three years, some 50 working听children have taken up their studies again as a result of the听organisation鈥檚 efforts.

鈥淲e have managed to persuade some families that educating听their children is far better and more valuable than the little听money they make,鈥� he said.

The , the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, covers humanitarian news, women鈥檚 rights, corruption and climate change.