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In this Saturday July 23, 2016 photo, a Palestinian mother and her children stand inside their caravan where 26 families still live waiting for their homes to be rebuilt in the sluggish process, at town of Khuza’a, in the southern Gaza Strip, Caravans, after two years since the end of the Israeli war on Gaza, became weary; holes grow larger on their floors and the roofs are caving in. residents shut the openings in the floor with cement to get away rats and insects. The 50-day Israeli war on Gaza, in 2014, impacted about 180,000 homes; of them 11,000 houses were destroyed and 6,800 sustained severe damage. over 13,000 families remain displaced, living in rental homes, makeshift shelters in the vicinity of their bombed-out dwellings or in three caravan encampments. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) Image Credit: AP

Ramallah: The Ministry of Social Affairs based in Ramallah has suspended monthly financial aid to thousands of families in Gaza in a move that has been widely criticised.

The ministry says the suspension was not political, but the decision was taken after the conditions of the families were “carefully reviewed”.

It added that the ministry applied strict and fair standards when reviewing the criteria of needy families.

“This recent decision by the Ramallah ministry is surprising and illegal as it was conducted without cooperation or consultation with the Gaza branch of the ministry,” said Dr. Yousuf Ebrahim, the Undersecretary of the Gaza Ministry of Social Affairs said.

“The money was going to support families with disabled or special needs members,” he added.

Approximately 1,297 needy families in Gaza will no longer be receiving the financial aid support.

Sami Abu Zahri, a spokesman for Hamas, the political party ruling Gaza, said that the Palestinian National Authority continues to discriminate against Gazan families.

“They are participating in Gaza’s deterioration,” he said.