Qatar is investing $1 billion for a redevelopment project in the Gaza Strip — to rebuild 1,000 Palestinian homes, a Qatari official told Reuters.
Four truckloads of cement arrived Tuesday to begin the construction, nearly a year after Israel's 51-day Gaza war demolished the area. Palestinian and UN officials said 130,000 houses were destroyed or damaged.
"We want more countries to come and build Gaza," said Mohammed al-Amadi, head of the Qatari Committee to Rebuild Gaza.
About $5.4 billion total was pledged to Gaza at an October donor conference in Cairo, but barely any of that money has reached the Strip, according to Reuters. UN officials have said international Palestinian divisions have prevented oversight from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
Israel also limits materials being imported into the Gaza Strip, citing regulations on "dual use" items that could be seized and used for military purposes by Hamas.
