Saudi donates $13.5 million to UN in Gaza

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allocated $13.5 million to UNRWA for the Palestinian people to be paid in cash to Gaza residents whose homes sustained minor damage during the summer 2014 Israeli military offensive.

UNRWA Gaza-based media adviser Adnan Abu Hasna said in a statement that the money was allocated by Saudi Arabia's development fund originally to be used in the reconstruction process. 

However, the fund agreed on Monday that the money should be paid in cash to some 10,000 Gaza families whose houses sustained minor damage during the latest Israeli offensive. 

The money, he said, has already been transferred to UNRWA bank accounts in the coastal enclave and that eligible beneficiaries will be able to receive their shares Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Abu Hasna applauded Saudi Arabia and said that the kingdom has always played a pioneering role in supporting Palestinian refugees through UNRWA before, during and after the war on Gaza.