Gazans suffering ravages of Israel war

People in the besieged Gaza Strip are suffering the agony of a recent Israeli war on the territory due to Israel's refusal to allow construction materials in to rebuild homes damaged by its bombardments.

News ID: 60776

Date: 23 October 2014 - 10:00

Most of the Palestinians living in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City are suffering the devastation left behind by Israeli tanks and bulldozers during the Israeli onslaught on the blockaded area which started on July 8 and ended on August 26 with an Egyptian-brokered truce.

“My dream which I built with my hands is destroyed completely,” a Palestinian man said, referring to his house.

Palestinian officials have been taking measures to rebuild the area. They, however, have already raised concern over the shortage of construction materials to re-build Gaza after the 50-day Israeli war on the territory.

“95 percent of the destroyed facilities have been registered and we started emergency housing strategy,” Palestinian Minister of Public Works and Housing Mufeed al-Hasayna said.

He further noted that Palestinian officials are cooperating with the United Nations to clear affected areas in the blockaded territory from explosives and toxics.

“We rented a garage in which twenty of our family members live,” a Gazan said, adding, “I am trying to rebuild my home but until now I haven’t received any penny from anyone.”

On October 7, Israel prevented dozens of trucks loaded with building materials from entering the besieged Gaza Strip, despite earlier promises to allow such a move.

“We were notified by the Palestinian National Company that Israel has indefinitely delayed the entry of the 60 trucks into the Gaza Strip,” the official Anadolu Agency quoted Mounir al-Ghalban from Gaza’s border authority, as saying.

The Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian territory also caused widespread devastation across Gaza. Over 15,600 housing units were damaged in the onslaught. More than 2,200 houses were totally destroyed, according to official figures released by Palestinian sources.

Financial experts estimate that it would cost over USD 7 billion to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

On September 23, Rami Hamdallah, the prime minister of the Palestinian national unity government, called for the international community to donate USD 3.8 billion in aid to reconstruct Gaza.

Source: PressTV