The two nations have reached a deal allowing Doha to supply fuel and building materials to the besieged Gaza Strip. 

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has revealed that Qatar and Egypt have agreed on a framework that will allow the Gulf state to deliver fuel and building material to the besieged Gaza Strip.

The agreement was revealed by Qatar’s Minister of State for foreign affairs Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi in Norway during a ministerial meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), an international body focussed on developmental assistance to Palestinians.

In a statement issued by MoFA, the minister of state “noted the importance of the current understandings, facilitating the movement of travelers through Rafah Border Crossing, and communication between all parties to calm the situation in the region.”

Following an 11-day war waged by Israel in May, 2,200 homes in Gaza were destroyed and 37,000 were damaged according to Reuters. Since the bombings, which killed 253 Palestinians, Israel and Egypt have been preventing reconstruction material reaching the besieged strip freely.

In late May, a ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, putting an end to Israel’s war. Since then, Gaza and its de facto rulers, Hamas, have been demanding access to funds and materials needed to rebuild the Strip.

For almost 15 years, Israel has imposed a suffocating air, land, and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip, transforming it into what a senior UN official has described as “the world’s largest open-air prison”.

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Under an agreement with the United Nations and Qatar, Israel recently allowed financial aid from the Doha to enter the Strip. In October, Qatar’s envoy to Gaza confirmed the start of distribution of financial aid in Gaza.

Officials from the besieged enclave estimate it will take $479 million to rebuild homes and infrastructure destroyed by the zionist state.

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