An elderly Palestinian woman reacts in front of her home, damaged by Israeli bombardment, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 20, 2021. (Photo by AFP)

Gaza City, June 4 (RHC)-- A Palestinian official says about 2,000 families are left without shelter in the besieged Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli regime’s latest aggression against the coastal enclave.  Naji Sarhan, the deputy minister of Labor and Housing in Gaza, said in a press statement on Thursday that 1,200 housing units were completely destroyed during the Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave last month while 1,000 others were partially destroyed.

Sarhan, referring to preliminary estimates, said the cost of rebuilding housing units is approximately $150 million.  The Palestinian official said government agencies in Gaza have taken urgent relief measures by disbursing $2,000 to owners of completely destroyed homes, and $1,000 for those partially destroyed.

An Egyptian delegation, consisting of six specialized engineers, arrived in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and conducted an inspection tour for several hours on a number of places destroyed by the latest Israeli airstrikes.  Egypt had earlier announced a financial aid of 500 million US dollars to support efforts to rebuild the Gaza Strip following the 12-day aggression of Israel on the coastal enclave.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report on Wednesday that the Israeli regime’s war against the Gaza Strip has left some 200,000 Palestinians in the Tel Aviv-blockaded territory and beyond, with “staggering health needs.”

The World Health Organization says the Israeli regime’s 12-day war left some 200,000 Palestinians with “staggering health needs.”  Tel Aviv launched the bombing campaign against Gaza on May 10, following Palestinian retaliation against violent raids on worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque and the regime’s plans to force a number of Palestinian families out of their homes at the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Apparently caught off guard by the unprecedented barrage of rockets from Gaza, Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on May 21st, which Palestinian resistance movements accepted with Egyptian mediation.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 260 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli offensive, including 66 children, 40 women and 16 elderly while 1,948 others were wounded.  In response, Palestinian resistance factions fired more than 4,000 rockets and missiles into the occupied territories, killing 12 people.