Saudi Arabia donates $31.8 million for the rehabilitation of Palestinian homes in Gaza

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) announced on Tuesday that it has received $31.8 million in financial assistance from Saudi Arabia for rebuilding Palestinian homes destroyed in the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza.

UNRWA said in a statement that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) worth $31.8 million, which has been provided by the Saudi government’s Saudi Development Fund.

The Saudi-funded project will include the rehabilitation of more than 5,000 houses for Palestinian non-refugees affected by the 2014 hostilities in the Gaza Strip, in addition to the maintenance, furnishing and equipping of three schools, UNRWA said in its statement.

UNRWA noted that the project will give priority to female-headed households and will take into account the number of family members and the socioeconomic status of the inhabitants.

In July 2014, the Israeli army launched a military operation on the Gaza Strip. The operation, which lasted for 51 days, resulted in the destruction of over 18,000 housing units, leaving approximately 100,000 people homeless.