Egypt allocates $500m for Gaza reconstruction

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said Egyptian companies will help rebuild the Gaza Strip after destruction by Israeli air strikes

French President Emanuel Macron welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi before a video conference with Jordan’s King Abdullah II to work on a proposal for a ceasefire and a path to discussionShow more

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said the country will allocate $500 million for reconstruction in Gaza after Israeli air strikes levelled parts of the enclave.

Egyptian companies will play a part in the reconstruction process, a statement from the presidential representative said on Tuesday.

Mr El Sisi issued the directive during a trilateral summit in Paris with the leaders of France and Jordan to discuss reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Hundreds of Israeli air strikes on Gaza have caused extensive damage to infrastructure and buildings. At least 213 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,440 wounded in the enclave, where violence has raged for nine days.

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been displaced and about 450 buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or badly damaged, including six hospitals and nine primary care health centres, the UN said on Tuesday.

More than 3,150 rockets have been fired from Gaza within the past week, according to Israel, and 12 people were killed in Israel.

Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing, the only gateway between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, on Sunday to receive injured Palestinians and deliver aid. Ambulances had been on standby since Friday.

Egypt is sending 65 tonnes of medicines and medical supplies worth 14 million Egyptian pounds ($893,077) to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health and Population said.

A total of 165 ambulances – including 50 along the Rafah crossing – have been sent, the ministry said on Monday.

Eleven hospitals in North Sinai, Ismailia by the Suez Canal and Cairo are equipped to receive wounded Palestinians from Gaza.