The Palestinian city has become known as the world’s largest open-air prison due to an air, land and sea blockade imposed by Israel in 2007.
Qatar agreed to reconstruct houses in Gaza that were destroyed following the latest Israeli aggression on the besieged city, Hamas announced on Friday.
“The leader of the movement expressed his deep appreciation to the brotherly State of Qatar, the Amir, the government and the people for this noble stance, which is added to its honourable record in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip,” said Hamas.
Gaza’s ruling-Hamas movement noted its chief Ismail Haniyeh said he received the approval from Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
The houses due to be rebuilt include those in Rafah and northern Gaza.
The besieged seaside Palestinian city faced Israeli bombardment that was launched on 5 August and ended three-days later with a Qatar and Egypt brokered ceasefire.
According to Palestine’s News Agency (WAFA), the death toll is now 49 as more Palestinians succumbed to their injuries after the attacks. A total of 17 Palestinian children were among those killed in the assaults.
The latest victim was 22-year-old Anas Khaled Inshasi, who died on Friday after suffering from critical injuries. On Thursday, 10-year-old Palestinian Liyan Al-Shaer died from her injuries after being treated at theAl-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem.
Qatar relief efforts
The Undersecretary of Gaza’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing Naji Sarhan said the Israeli regime destroyed 18 housing units and noted 71 housing units were levelled during the latest aggression.
Gaza was already reeling from last year’s bombardment, in which at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children, were killed. A Qatar-Egypt ceasefire also ended that assault at the time.
Last week, the Qatar Red Crescent (QRCS) launched a QAR 4 million campaign as part of an urgent relief response following the latest Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip.
The Qatari entity said the aid is expected to benefit 60,250 people in the besieged city.
“Initial response involves distributing food parcels to 30,000 beneficiaries, supporting hospitals to serve 20,000 beneficiaries, rehabilitating water and sewage systems/facilities for the benefit of 10,000 persons and rebuilding damaged homes for 250 beneficiaries,” said QRCS.
Also last week, QRCS announced the “Devotion for Gaza” campaign aimed at receiving donations to help rebuild the city destroyed by the Zionist regime.
Largest open-air prison
The Palestinian city has become known as the world’s largest open-air prison due to an air, land and sea blockade imposed by Israel in 2007.
On Friday, Qatar’s foreign minister said his country is concerned about the situation in Gaza, where Palestinians also face daily rights violations.
“We are very much concerned about the deterioration about the humanitarian situation there in Palestine and especially in Gaza after the last round of bombing that the people of Gaza have been exposed to,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
Israel withholds fuel from the power plant and also controls up to 90% of water in the besieged enclave. Sources and figures show just 10.5% Palestinians in Gaza have access to safe drinking water.
More than 96% of water in Gaza’s aquifers are not safe for consumption, forcing Palestinians to buy water at inflated prices despite their full right to access it for free.
The poverty rate in Gaza has increased from 40% in 2005 to 56% in 2020.
Trucks carrying good to the strip constantly face obstacles under the apartheid state with key crossings being closed at unexpected times.
Before the embargo, at least 30,000 Palestinians were able to travel through the Erez crossing on a monthly basis, however, the number decreased by 85% as of 2020. This is also the case for the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
