Having failed to protect the civilians of Gaza in July and August last year, the international community seemed poised to make amends by working to rebuild the Strip. But despite pledges of billions of dollars, only $100m in aid had reportedly arrived by the start of this year. That's just about two per cent of the promised amount.
Hardly any of the 96,000 houses damaged or destroyed during the conflict have been restored, leaving tens of thousands to face one of the harshest winters in years. Little has been done by the international community to put pressure on Israel and Egypt to ease the blockade on Gaza. The Israeli border crossings remain closed to all but a small trickle of aid and the Egyptian authorities' recent decision to open the Rafah crossing for three days provided only very temporary relief.
The full article originally appears in The National News.