Published : 10-03-2017
A study by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs showed that more than 59% of families who returned to the blockaded Gaza Strip from such war-torn zones as Syria, Libya, and Yemen are living under extreme poverty.
52% of those families can barely manage to secure their livelihood for two months due to the lack of financial resources.
The report further revealed that 122 families suffer from prolonged crying spells and that the members of 119 families feel extremely depressed.
Etimad AlTarshawi, the general director of development and planning at the Social Affairs Ministry, said during a press conference held at the Information Ministry in Gaza on Monday that 50% of families are jobless and 75% do not have homes to take shelter in.
Survival for 66% of Gaza families largely hinges on aid. For 4.5% of families, women are the sole bread-winners.
AlTarshawi called on the Palestinian government and its institutions to take up their responsibilities and urgently work on providing those families with shelters and permanent employment opportunities for at least one family member.
The official further urged UNRWA to increase its cash and food aid for jobless families.
AlTarshawi also pushed for granting Gaza refugees identity cards and health insurance, along with free university enrollment fees.
She further spoke up for the right of families who do not hold identity documents to family reunification, calling on all governmental and non-governmental parties to combine forces to those very ends.
Sources from the Refugee Follow-Up Committee told AGPS that the number of Palestinian families from Syria who returned to Gaza is estimated at 176 families, down from 360 in 2013, after dozens of families fled to Europe via Libya and Egypt in the hunt for safer shelters.
A study by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs showed that more than 59% of families who returned to the blockaded Gaza Strip from such war-torn zones as Syria, Libya, and Yemen are living under extreme poverty.
52% of those families can barely manage to secure their livelihood for two months due to the lack of financial resources.
The report further revealed that 122 families suffer from prolonged crying spells and that the members of 119 families feel extremely depressed.
Etimad AlTarshawi, the general director of development and planning at the Social Affairs Ministry, said during a press conference held at the Information Ministry in Gaza on Monday that 50% of families are jobless and 75% do not have homes to take shelter in.
Survival for 66% of Gaza families largely hinges on aid. For 4.5% of families, women are the sole bread-winners.
AlTarshawi called on the Palestinian government and its institutions to take up their responsibilities and urgently work on providing those families with shelters and permanent employment opportunities for at least one family member.
The official further urged UNRWA to increase its cash and food aid for jobless families.
AlTarshawi also pushed for granting Gaza refugees identity cards and health insurance, along with free university enrollment fees.
She further spoke up for the right of families who do not hold identity documents to family reunification, calling on all governmental and non-governmental parties to combine forces to those very ends.
Sources from the Refugee Follow-Up Committee told AGPS that the number of Palestinian families from Syria who returned to Gaza is estimated at 176 families, down from 360 in 2013, after dozens of families fled to Europe via Libya and Egypt in the hunt for safer shelters.
