$280m needed to rebuild Gaza homes destroyed in Israel’s 2014 offensive

Gaza still needs $280 million to rebuild homes demolished during Israel’s 2014 offensive on the enclave, head of the Popular Committee Against the Israeli Siege on Gaza, MP Jamal Al-Khodari, said yesterday.

In a statement reported by the Safa News Agency, Al-Khodari said that the reconstruction of these homes is a “humanitarian, ethical and legal issue”, noting that women, children and men who used to live in these homes “are currently homeless”.

He called on the Palestinian factions, government and everyone to work hard in order to solve this problem, which is being aggravated by the 13-year-old Israeli siege.

READ: Gaza’s severe crises still unresolved approaching 2020

“All the Palestinians at all levels must take this issue directly to the donors in order to get a solution for it,” Al-Khodari said, adding: “Solving it means ending the suffering of hundreds of homeless people.”

Meanwhile, he called for the donors who made pledges during the Cairo Conference in the months following the Israeli attack – dubbed “Operation Protective Edge” – to follow through with their promises.

Al-Khodari said that 2019 was the harshest year since the start of the Israeli siege on Gaza, stressing that “life will be impossible in 2020” if the Israeli siege continues.