This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
Wednesday 08 Jul 2015 - 16:33 Makkah mean time-21-9-1436
(Image from internet)
Gaza, (IINA) - The People of Gaza are marking a year since the Israeli air raids that heralded the start of a war that left 2,251 Palestinians dead and thousands more wounded, according to Al Jazeera News channel.
The anniversary on Wednesday of last summer's war comes as the besieged territory struggles to rebuild its infrastructure, and tens of thousands of its people struggling to access basic amenities.
More than 12,000 homes were destroyed in the war and 100,000 damaged.
International donors including the US and Arab Gulf countries have pledged more than $5 billion to help rebuild Gaza.
Israel's economic siege, which has lasted for years, means badly needed construction materials like cement have not been allowed in, despite offers by the United Nations to oversee the process.
Around 20,000 Palestinians still live in temporary shelters ranging from cargo containers to makeshift tents in what is left of their bombed-out homes.
Two-thirds of the 1.8 million population are recipients of UN aid in one form or another.
Robert Turner, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said during a press conference in Gaza on Wednesday that help is needed for more than 7,000 homes to be rebuilt.
"All we can do is continue to pass the message that the Palestinians of Gaza deserve a better future," Turner said.
Seventeen hospitals, 56 primary health facilities, and 45 ambulances were either damaged or completely destroyed during the conflict, costing Gaza's healthcare system alone an estimated $50 million.
SM/IINA
|
No comments:
Post a Comment