Food assistance from Turkey arrives in Gaza


The last of nine shipments of wheat flour donated by Turkey to Gaza in 2014 has arrived in the coastal strip, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

The full donation of 15,000 metric tonnes is worth over US$ 6 million and will feed more than 140,000 families.

UNRWA describes the present economic situation in Gaza as dire, having been devastated by years of blockade and recurrent conflict.

The agency also reports that refugee unemployment has skyrocketed in the Gaza Strip, reaching 45 per cent in the second quarter of 2014.

The number of Palestinian refugees relying on UNRWA for food aid is currently over 860,000.


SOURCE: Stephanie Coutrix, United Nations.