ID :
358605
Fri, 02/27/2015 - 21:28
Auther :

Rebuilding Gaza will take more than a century

Tehran, Feb 27, IRNA – Reconstructing the Gaza Strip will take more than a century if the Israeli siege on the Strip is not lifted, the London-based charity Oxfam warned on Friday. 'At current rates it could take more than 100 years to complete essential building of homes, schools and health facilities in Gaza unless the Israeli blockade is lifted,' Oxfam said in a statement. It said that new figures show the amount of vital construction materials entering Gaza dropped last month. 'Less than 0.25 per cent of the truckloads of essential construction materials needed have entered Gaza in the past three months,' the statement noted. 'Six months since the end of the conflict, the situation in Gaza is becoming increasingly desperate,' Oxfam said, calling for an urgent end to the blockade which has now been in place for nearly eight years. Oxfam said Gaza needs more than 800,000 truckloads of construction materials to build homes, schools, health facilities and other infrastructure required after repeated conflicts and years of blockade. 'Yet, in January only 579 such trucks entered Gaza,' it said, 'this is even less than the 795 trucks that entered the previous month.' Oxfam pointed out: 'Around 100,000 people - more than half of them children - are still living in shelters, temporary accommodation or with extended family after their homes were destroyed. Tens of thousands more families are living in badly damaged homes.' 'Only an end to the blockade of Gaza will ensure that people can rebuild their lives. Families have been living in homes without roofs, walls or windows for the past six months,' Oxfam's Regional Director Catherine Essoyan said. She added: 'Many have just six hours of electricity a day and are without running water. Every day that people are unable to build is putting more lives at risk. It is utterly deplorable that the international community is once again failing the people of Gaza when they need it most.”

X