403
Sorry!!
Error! We're sorry, but the page you were looking for doesn't exist.
UN doubles estimate of destroyed Gaza homes
(MENAFN- Arab News) JERUSALEM: The UN warned Thursday it was running out of funds to house families in Gaza as it doubled its estimate of the number of homes damaged or destroyed in this summer's war with Israel.
'Unless the situation changes urgently we will run out of funds in January meaning we will not be able to provide rental subsidies to many affected families nor provide the support required to carry out repairs' said Robert Turner the operations director for the UNRWA Palestinian refugee agency.
He said more than 96000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the 50-day war more than twice the UN's original estimate.
Based on satellite imagery and preliminary field work immediately after the war 'we estimated about 42000 refugee family shelters had been affected by the war' he said.
'We now know that over 96000 homes were damaged or destroyed.'
Turner said more than 7000 homes were completely lost affecting some 10000 families. An additional 89000 homes were damaged about 10000 of them severely.
UNRWA has estimated $720 million (585 million euros) will be needed to provide rental subsidies to families with no alternative shelter to rebuild destroyed homes and repair damaged ones.
However only some $100 million has been pledged. Without additional funds 'tens of thousands of refugee families will find themselves with inadequate shelter and no support during the hardest months of winter' Turner said.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza militants which ended on Aug. 26 killed nearly 2200 Palestinians most of them civilians and 73 people on the Israeli side mostly soldiers.
'Unless the situation changes urgently we will run out of funds in January meaning we will not be able to provide rental subsidies to many affected families nor provide the support required to carry out repairs' said Robert Turner the operations director for the UNRWA Palestinian refugee agency.
He said more than 96000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the 50-day war more than twice the UN's original estimate.
Based on satellite imagery and preliminary field work immediately after the war 'we estimated about 42000 refugee family shelters had been affected by the war' he said.
'We now know that over 96000 homes were damaged or destroyed.'
Turner said more than 7000 homes were completely lost affecting some 10000 families. An additional 89000 homes were damaged about 10000 of them severely.
UNRWA has estimated $720 million (585 million euros) will be needed to provide rental subsidies to families with no alternative shelter to rebuild destroyed homes and repair damaged ones.
However only some $100 million has been pledged. Without additional funds 'tens of thousands of refugee families will find themselves with inadequate shelter and no support during the hardest months of winter' Turner said.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza militants which ended on Aug. 26 killed nearly 2200 Palestinians most of them civilians and 73 people on the Israeli side mostly soldiers.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Comments
No comment