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- November 15, 202612°
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- November 15, 202612°
Smotrich rejects Gaza reconstruction before Hamas disarmament as 560,000 children lack safe shelter
The Israeli finance minister rejected the Peace Council’s call, while Save the Children warned that children are paying the price for restrictions on the entry of tents and shelter materials.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that he opposed allowing the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip before Hamas is fully disarmed. He was responding to the Peace Council’s call for Israel to fulfill its obligations in the Strip.
In a statement, Smotrich held Hamas solely responsible for the suffering of Gaza’s residents, saying Israel’s position was clear and firm. He called for the Strip to be turned into a fully demilitarized area that poses no threat to Israel.
The Peace Council had warned of an emergency caused by flooding and the approaching winter, urging Israel to act quickly to allow humanitarian aid and winter supplies to enter and saying that its steps so far were insufficient. The United Nations estimates the cost of rebuilding Gaza at around $70 billion.
Children pay the price
In the same context, Save the Children said that more than 560,000 children in Gaza now lack safe shelter, while around 1.2 million people, or nearly 58 percent of the population, are living in critical or catastrophic shelter conditions. It said the first winter storm flooded around 70,000 tents in a single day, while civil defense teams received more than 1,500 distress calls.
The organization accused Israel of restricting the entry of tents, plastic sheeting, blankets, fuel and construction materials. Its regional director, Ahmed Hindawi, said children were sleeping in floodwater because Israeli officials were preventing these materials from entering, describing this as a choice for which children are paying the price.
Burj al-Laqlaq Association closed in Jerusalem
In occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities ordered the closure of the historic Burj al-Laqlaq Association in the Old City for six months, for the second time in a year, in a decision signed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. The association, which provides educational, sports and social programs for Jerusalem residents, condemned the decision as arbitrary.
Meanwhile, a poll by Britain’s National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) showed that 78 percent of Britons view Israel as a serious threat to world peace, compared with 48 percent in 2005.
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