UN to distribute cash aid to Gaza families, envoy says

Nearly 100,000 beneficiaries will begin to receive cash aid on Monday, UN Middle East envoy says.

The United Nations will begin on Monday to distribute cash aid to thousands of poor families in the besieged Gaza Strip under a programme funded by Qatar, the UN Middle East envoy has said. Qatar has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza since Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip in 2014. But another round of fighting in May with Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules Gaza, prompted Israeli and United States demands to revise the payouts to ensure they did not reach Hamas. They have since been on hold. Under a revised funding scheme coordinated by Qatar and the UN and supported by Israel, cash will be given out at more than 700 distribution points throughout the Gaza Strip, a UN official said.