QNA
Doha
On the directives of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, the Qatari National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza will embark on the second phase of the emergency humanitarian relief programme for the residents of the Gaza Strip after the Eid Al Fitr holidays.
The committee had already completed the $15 million first phase of the project.
Chairman of the Qatari National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza HE Ambassador Mohammed al Emadi said he will visit the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories after the Eid holidays to oversee the humanitarian relief projects for the residents of the Gaza Strip announced in early May.
Work will begin on the next phase of the project (decent housing) to renovate the homes of poor families at a cost of $3 million, he said.
Over the past three years, he said, the committee has spent nearly $3 million for this project, which included renovation and construction of more than 400 apartments and houses in three phases.
Emadi pointed out that Qatar provided another grant of QR50 million in early May as humanitarian assistance, especially in health, education and housing sectors, in addition to food needs and others in the holy month of Ramadan.
He said the committee concluded an important phase of relief programmes and projects for the residents of the Gaza Strip at a cost of $15 million, by the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The committee implemented many projects, most notably the iftar project for one million people at a cost of about $2 million, he said.
The project included distribution of food parcels to more than 40,000 poor families in Gaza, as well as the provision of iftar meals to thousands of poor families through daily visits of the homes of the poor.
During the holy month of Ramadan, he said, the committee hosted an iftar party for various Palestinian groups, including the families of the martyrs, the wounded and the prisoners, as well as for hundreds of athletes and people with special needs, dozens of persons with war-related injuries in Gaza and cancer patients, as well as iftar meals for the families of new converts and non-Arabic speaking foreign women.
Emadi pointed out that the humanitarian relief programme included the implementation of a project to distribute cash aid to about 40,000 poor families at a cost of $4 million.
He said the committee responded to the appeal of the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip to provide necessary fuel to operate the hospitals of the ministry for at least two months, in coordination with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), at a cost of $500,000, adding that the first phase of medicines and medical supplies at a cost of about $2.5 million were delivered to hospitals.
Emadi said he will oversee the completion of supply of medicines to the Ministry of Health at a cost of up to $2 million.
Emadi said he will also pay the university grant worth about $2.5 million that will be given to poor students who cannot pay tuition fees.
During the previous visit, a $1 million grant benefited about 2,250 university students in Gaza, he pointed out.
The Eid clothing distribution project to more than 1,000 poor children and orphans in the governorates of the Gaza Strip has also been completed, he said.
Sweets, toys and gifts were distributed on behalf of Qatar to dozens of children suffering from cancer at the Dr Abdulaziz Al Rantisi Hospital and the main children's hospital in Gaza on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr.
The directives of the Amir to provide assistance to the people of Gaza came in response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the UN appeals in this regard to address the difficult conditions faced by the residents of the Gaza Strip these days.