Amman -
A generous contribution of $500,000 (Dh1.83 million) from Emirates Red Crescent enabled the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to provide refugees in Gaza with food assistance.
The ERC contribution helped provide food baskets containing flour, sugar, rice, oil and milk to more than 14,000 refugees from 2,500 families in Gaza. The beneficiaries, selected from among the recipients of the UNRWA Social Safety Net programme, are among the poorest of refugees.
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Filippo Grandi, welcomed the ERC contribution. “This contribution is welcome not only because of Ramadan but also because it comes at a time of increasing economic difficulties in Gaza due to the continuing Israeli blockade, exacerbated by the recent closure of many of the tunnels linking Gaza to Egypt,” said Grandi.
The ERC has been a regular supporter of UNRWA and Palestine refugees. Since 2008, the UAERC has contributed over $25 million for food assistance, construction projects and medication, and has also sponsored Palestine refugee orphans in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.