Qatar To Help Rebuild Gaza

Qatar has said that it will help rebuild the war-torn economy of Gaza following the ceasefire agreement reached between Hamas and Israel in Cairo this week, local media reported.

“Qatar expressed its appreciation to all those who contributed to reaching this agreement and voiced its full readiness to contribute to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip as soon as possible,” the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) said.

However, no further details about the aid package or how the state was planning to support Gaza were disclosed.

Qatar added that the agreement was achieved due to the “steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their sacrifices.” It also said that it hoped the deal would be a step towards “alleviating the suffering of Palestinian people in the Gaza strip”, local daily Gulf Times reported.

The ceasefire deal, which ended 50 days of conflict that resulted in the death of over 2,000 civilians in Gaza, will open up the border crossings to allow aid and reconstruction supplies into the city.

The conflict has also left much of Gaza’s infrastructure in shambles, causing damage to its only power station, water treatment centre and agricultural lands.

According to official estimates, it could cost up to $10 billion to rebuild Gaza’s homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure, Reuters reported earlier.

But steps are underway to revive the war-ravaged economy. A Hamas spokesperson said in a statement to the official Palestinian news agency Maan that the reconstruction of Gaza will be discussed in a donors’ conference to be held in Cairo in September.

Qatar has also previously provided aid to help the war-torn Gaza economy to recover from earlier conflicts. In 2012, the Gulf state announced a $254 million plan, the biggest amount of reconstruction aid to Palestinians till date, to help rebuild their economy.

It has also promised aid to those who became destitute due to the recent conflict while many Qatari organisations have launched fundraisers to support the people of Gaza, another Qatar daily The Peninsula reported.