UN food aid is now being distributed to 900,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of Israel's devastating military offensive in the territory, an official said on Wednesday. "We have increased the numbers on our food distribution to 900,000 of the one million refugees here," said John Ging, who heads the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza.
All employees of the Palestinian Authority have been included because "they are not getting the cash for their salaries, therefore they are not able to buy the food." The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority lost power in Gaza to the Islamist Hamas movement in June 2007 after days of vicious fighting between the rival factions.
UNWRA aid had previously covered 750,000 people in Gaza, where local doctors said more than 1,300 people died in the blistering 22-day assault aimed at ending rocket attacks on southern Israel. "We are also distributing millions of dollars of cash assistance to those who have had their house damaged and need temporary shelters," Ging told a press conference.