Hamas hails resumption of Qatari payments to Gaza

Qatar has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza’s poorest families in recent years.

Hamas welcomed on Friday an agreement reached with Qatar to resume aid payments to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip. Israel on Thursday announced it reached an agreement with Qatar for the Gulf country to resume aid payments, a step aimed at easing tensions with the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory in the wake of an 11-day war in May. “The announcement by the brothers in Qatar about reaching an agreement with the United Nations to bring in part of the Qatari grant is part of an appreciated Qatari effort to ease the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.