U.S. announces $50 million in aid to the Gaza Strip

(JNS.org) The United States has announced a $50 million humanitarian aid program for the Gaza Strip. 

According to U.S. officials, the aid—which will be distributed by the U.S. Agency for International Development in conjunction with Catholic Relief Services—will be dispersed over five years to provide basic humanitarian assistance and create jobs.

U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem Donald A. Blume said the effort is meant to address “the dire needs that are obvious in Gaza,” the Associated Press reported. 

The announcement of U.S. aid comes as a recent World Bank report said that many leading Arab and Muslim states—such as Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia—have fallen well short of their promised aid to help reconstruct Gaza following the 2014 summer war there between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas.

According to the report, Qatar, which promised $1 billion in aid, has so far only donated $152 million, while Saudi Arabia has only delivered 10 percent of its $500 million pledge and Turkey has only delivered one-third of the $200 million it promised.