Special to WorldTribune.com

GAZA CITY — The United Nations reports that virtually none of the $5.4 billion pledged for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip has come through.

The UN Refugee and Works Agency reported the halt in the international reconstruction program of the Gaza Strip. UNRWA said it was unable to continue operating amid the failure by Arab and Western countries to fulfill their pledges.

“This is distressing and unacceptable,” Robert Turner, director for UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, said.

On Jan. 27, the UN agency, responsible for more than 500,000 Gazans, said it was suspending a program to help Palestinians repair their homes damaged in the war with Israel in mid-2014. Officials said UNRWA received $135 million in pledges for the $720 million home repair program.

“It is unclear why this funding has not been forthcoming,” Turner said.

Qatar and Turkey submitted among the largest pledges at the reconstruction conference in Egypt in October 2014. Officials said both countries, which hosted the Hamas leadership, failed to honor their promises.

Officials said the UN agency required $100 million by April 2015 to maintain such services as rental subsidies to Palestinians who lost their homes in the 50-day Hamas war. They said without the subsidies the Palestinians would face eviction and flood UN emergency centers, which now house 12,000 people.

“People are desperate and the international community cannot even provide the bare minimum — for example a repaired home in winter — let alone a lifting of the blockade, access to markets or freedom of movement,” Turner said. “We’ve said before that quiet will not last, and now the quiet is at risk.”

  but $5.4 billion in pledges failed to materialize, UN ready to rebuild Gaza, WorldTribune.com