Palestinian Authority forms task force to oversee Gaza's reconstruction
LONDON: The Palestinian Authority announced the formation of a task force on Tuesday to oversee the Gaza Strip's reconstruction and coordinate humanitarian relief efforts with Egypt.
The PA's task force will address urgent issues for the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza following 15 months of Israeli bombardment, which ended in January following a ceasefire.
Its responsibilities will include distributing aid, reopening roads, clearing debris, and providing adequate shelter for families whose homes have been destroyed.
The Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, which began in late 2023, has resulted in the deaths of at least 47,000 Palestinians, with the majority being women and children. According to the UN, about 60 percent of buildings in Gaza have been either damaged or destroyed during the military campaign.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that a PA-led Government Operations Room for Emergency Interventions is currently working to deliver as many essential services as possible to the people in Gaza, including water, electricity, healthcare, and education.
'This is a national responsibility toward our people, who have endured the horrors of war for the past 15 months,' he said, as reported by the Palestine News and Information Agency.
Mustafa added that Palestinians 'will neither capitulate nor despair in the face of the international community's failure to stop Israel's war machine.'
He added: 'These crimes against our people must end. We will continue our legitimate struggle for all our rights because we are certain that justice will prevail as no right is ever lost when fought for.'
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