MOSCOW, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - German authorities intend to provide 50 million euro ($63 million) for the restoration of the Palestinian Gaza Strip following the recent armed conflict with Israel, the country's Foreign Ministry stated Sunday.
"Germany pledges 50 million euros for reconstruction... FM [Foreign Minister] Steinmeier: [we] are not allowed to leave people in Gaza to despair," the Ministry's official Twitter account said.
An international conference on the reconstruction of the Gaza strip is currently taking place in the Egyptian capital Cairo. President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas announced at the conference that the rebuilding of Gaza requires $4 billion. US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington will allocate $212 million to the Gaza reconstruction program.
In June, Israel launched a military operation against the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. According to UN data, the 50-day armed conflict claimed the lives of over 2,100 Palestinians and 71 Israelis. Palestinian authorities have estimated that over 60,000 residential buildings in Gaza were damaged by Israeli airstrikes.
In late August, the sides agreed on a truce mediated by the Egyptian government. The agreement envisaged Israel opening border crossings to allow humanitarian aid and construction materials to enter Gaza.
