UN seeks $540mn for Palestinian humanitarian aid

The UN said Wednesday about $540 million is needed for humanitarian relief in the Palestinian territories in 2018. Jamie McGoldrick, the top UN humanitarian coordinator, said that 75 percent of that sum is for Gaza, where “a man-made tragedy is unfolding daily,” AP reports. Gaza has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the Islamic militant group Hamas took over the territory in 2007. Half the sum is to support emergency projects by UNRWA, the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees, after Washington slashed its funding this year. The rest is to fund food, water, health, sanitation, shelter and education projects, according to the UN.