UNRWA Begins Reconstruction in Gaza After Israeli Aggression

Houses destroyed in Gaza Strip after the Israeli aggression (File photo: Reuters)
Houses destroyed in Gaza Strip after the Israeli aggression (File photo: Reuters)
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UNRWA Begins Reconstruction in Gaza After Israeli Aggression

Houses destroyed in Gaza Strip after the Israeli aggression (File photo: Reuters)
Houses destroyed in Gaza Strip after the Israeli aggression (File photo: Reuters)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will start rebuilding houses destroyed in the Gaza Strip and pay financial compensation to those affected by the latest Israeli aggression.

UNRWA media advisor Adnan Abu Hasna told local al-Aqsa Radio that over the past period, the UNRWA spent "rental allowance" for six months and will pay for four others.

Israel carried out 11-day aggression on Gaza, and it ended by declaring a ceasefire on May 21.

Abu Hasna also noted there had been no development so far regarding the issue of those affected by the 2014 war, which lasted 51 days and left massive destruction at the time.

The aggression caused severe destruction to 1,335 residential institutions, and moderate destruction to around 12,886 houses, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza.

UNRWA launched this operation in coordination with the Ministry of Works in Gaza, responsible for non-refugees and UNDP, and other UN institutions.

Egypt is working with a $500 million grant to build three housing complexes in the Gaza Strip, including the American School in the north of Gaza, the area of ​​​​the veterans in al-Karama, and al-Zahra.

Cairo supervised the first phase of the reconstruction process, which included removing the rubble, with the participation of Egyptian technical teams.

Qatar also provided a $500 million grant, Germany $9 million. Some donations were provided by international and local countries and institutions, estimated at nearly $20 million.

Officials in Gaza say the first stage of the reconstruction process is valued at $310 million, while the reconstruction and development stage is about $3.6 billion.

It is noteworthy that the total amount required for the reconstruction of the Strip, according to the National Plan for the Reconstruction of Gaza approved at the 2014 Cairo Conference, is about $3.9 billion.

Donors pledged nearly $5 billion, including $3.5 billion for the enclave's reconstruction. Still, the total amount received from pledges amounted to almost $900 million, representing 26 percent of the general pledges for the reconstruction process.



Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
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Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)

Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike.

Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup, Reuters reported.

Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir".

"What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters.

Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists.

Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial".

Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices.

The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition.

Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party.

The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.