UN to distribute Qatar cash aid to needy families in Gaza

The Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the United Nations (UN) yesterday signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to distribute Qatari aid to 100,000 needy families in the Gaza Strip, a senior diplomat said.

Qatari Ambassador to Palestine and the committee’s Chairman, Mohammed al-Emadi, said in a statement that he had signed the MoU with the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland.

“The cash aid will be disbursed to the beneficiaries through the UN World Food Program (WFP), where about 100,000 needy families in the Gaza Strip will receive this aid per month, at the cost of 100 U.S. dollars per family in cash,” Ambassador Al-Emadi said.

According to the statement, the aid will be transferred before the end of August to be distributed during the month of September.

The cash is part of a $360 million grant pledged by the Emir Qatar, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, to the people of Gaza Strip in January to be disbursed in 2021.

However, since May Israel has refused to transfer the funds to Gaza saying Hamas would use the money in its resistance activities.

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