On Thursday, Israel announced that it had agreed with Qatar and the United Nations on a mechanism for transferring assistance from Qatar to the Gaza Strip. This development enhances the prospects for relief in the area after the devastation caused by the conflict between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). The delivery of aid to the territory had been paused following the fighting that erupted in May, due to disputes over Israelis held by Hamas for an extended period and discussions on how to prevent Hamas from accessing aid funds.
Hamas has pledged not to tamper with donor funds, a key point in negotiations mediated by Egypt following a truce reached on May 21 that largely halted cross-border fighting. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, while announcing the agreement on Thursday, stated that he had communicated with Qatar "to create a mechanism that ensures funds reach those in need while maintaining Israel's security requirements."
Gantz added in a statement that, under the new mechanism, Qatari aid "will be directly transferred by the UN to the bank accounts of hundreds of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip, with Israel overseeing who receives it." Gantz also noted that Israel would continue its "campaign to pressure for the return of Israeli soldiers and civilians held hostage by Hamas."
There has been no comment yet from Hamas, which has not disclosed details regarding the condition of the four Israelis: two soldiers who went missing during the fighting in the 2014 war and two civilians who separately crossed into the territory. The Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the UN to distribute $100 to each household of approximately 100,000 families starting in September.
The fighting in May resulted in the destruction or damage of over 4,000 homes in the territory, with the World Bank estimating the losses to be as high as $380 million. Egypt and Qatar pledged $500 million from each country for the reconstruction of the area. At least 250 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the recent escalation of the conflict, which saw Palestinian groups firing rockets from the territory towards Israeli cities and Israel conducting airstrikes on the region.
