GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories —
Hamas vowed Wednesday not to touch “a single cent” of international aid to rebuild
Gaza following its war with Israel that ravaged the enclave it rules.
اضافة اعلان
The head of the group’s political wing, Yahya Sinwar, promised “transparent and impartial” distribution of aid in the aftermath of the 11 days of deadly conflict.
Diplomatic efforts are underway to solidify a fragile Egypt-brokered truce that halted the fighting, with plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip where Israeli air strikes damaged infrastructure and leveled buildings.
“We welcome any international or Arab effort to rebuild the Gaza Strip,” Sinwar told a news conference in Gaza City.
“I affirm our commitment not to take a single cent intended for reconstruction and humanitarian efforts,” he said. “We have never taken a cent in the past.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that all aid would be “administered in a way that benefits the Palestinian people — not Hamas.”
Israel — which has enforced a land and maritime blockade on the Palestinian enclave since 2007 — accuses the group of diverting international aid to military ends.
An Israeli ministry official said all funds to the Gaza Strip would have to flow through an international “mechanism” to reach people directly.
The latest conflict erupted on May 10 after Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli security forces inside the Al-Aqsa, which prompted Hamas to send volleys of rocket fire towards Israel.
That violence in occupied east Jerusalem mushroomed out of protests over the potential expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in favor of Jewish settlers.
Between May 10 and May 21, Israeli air strikes and artillery fire killed 254 Palestinians, including 66 children and some fighters, authorities in Gaza say.
Rocket and other fire from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and one Arab-Israeli teenager, according to police.
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