Financial aid as part of $480 million in aid allocated by Qatar, in Gaza
Financial aid as part of $480 million in aid allocated by Qatar, in GazaFlash 90

The United Nations will begin on Monday to distribute cash aid to thousands of poor families in Gaza under a program funded by Qatar, the UN Middle East envoy said on Sunday, according to Reuters.

Nearly 100,000 beneficiaries will begin to receive the cash aid on Monday, UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Officials did not say if or how the distribution points were being monitored to ensure the cash bypasses Hamas.

Qatar has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to pay for electricity in the Strip, build new roads and hospitals, help Hamas cover the salaries of its civil servants and provide monthly stipends to poor families.

Israel has approved the transfer of the Qatari money and has come under fire for doing so as Hamas continues to regularly fire rockets at Israeli towns in the south.

Following Operation Guardian of the Walls, it was reported that Israel plans to reevaluate the way in which the Qatari money enters Gaza in order to ensure that the funds go to the needy population of the Strip and not into the hands of Hamas.

Palestinian Arab sources later said that the United Nations would take on the responsibility of distributing the Qatari monetary aid to families in the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, the Palestinian Authority withdrew from the arrangement to transfer the Qatari aid money to the Gaza Strip over concerns that its banks could be exposed to accusations of financing terrorism. It remains unclear how the money will be transferred.