Leaders of the UN and the Arab League on Friday urged the international donors to honor their aid pledges for the Gaza Strip, while calling for expansion of reconstruction efforts.

In a statement issued here, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Nabil Elaraby, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, urgently appealed to donors to honor and disburse "as soon as possible" their financial commitments made at the October 2014 Cairo Conference for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.

"This support should also include funding for UN agencies that are carrying out vital operations in Gaza, in order to prevent a further deterioration in the already dire humanitarian situation," the statement said.

The two leaders expressed their deep concern over the situation while noted that the progress made so far under the temporary Gaza reconstruction mechanism has to date enabled access to construction material for some 55,000 Gazan homeowners in support of shelter repairs.

"The pace of reconstruction in Gaza remains slow," the statement said. "It is crucial now to expand the scope of reconstruction efforts thus far to bring hope to the people of Gaza and ensure stability, based on international responsibility in reconstruction and lifting the siege."

They added that the operations of the mechanism are ready to be scaled up to facilitate the swift implementation of major large- scale projects.

United Nations for Relief and Work Agency on Jan. 27 stopped cashing financial aid to the victims of the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip due to shortage of finance. It had only received 135 million U.S. dollars out of 724 million dollars, which were pledged at Cairo donor conference in 2014 for reconstruction in Gaza.

On July 8, 2014, Israel waged a 50-day large-scale military air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip that ended in Aug. 26. The offensive left large destruction in housing, industry and infrastructure, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,100 Palestinians and more than 70 Israelis. Endite

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