Hamas rejects ‘inefficient’ UN Gaza plan

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has opposed a UN reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip following Israel’s recent devastating war on the Palestinians.

Hamas spokesperson, Sami Abu Zuhri, on Sunday called the UN plan “unacceptable and inefficient.”

Back in September, the global body announced a plan to create a system to ship badly needed reconstruction materials to Gaza while sidelining Hamas.

In its latest war against the Palestinians in Gaza, which lasted about 50 days, the Israeli regime destroyed infrastructures and leveled to the ground thousands of houses in the impoverished Palestinian strip.

The assault on the blockaded Gaza Strip, which started on July 8, left over 2,100 killed and 11,000 others injured. The war ended on August 26 with a truce that took effect after negotiations in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo.

Gaza, the scene of three destructive wars since 2008, has long faced Israeli blockade, including restrictions on the import of building materials such as concrete.

Civil society organizations have called for an emergency plan to accelerate the construction in the besieged enclave, saying this is the only fundamental solution to end the catastrophe there.

With the cold days of winter approaching, more than 100,000 Gaza residents are still homeless. According to reports, Israel has only delivered some 400 tons of cement in a single shipment to Gaza after the regime’s recent war on the Palestinian territory.

International donors have also pledged USD 5.4 billion toward the rebuilding of Gaza.

Palestinian experts, however, have said in a recent report that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would cost USD 7.7 billion.