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Gaza relief efforts overrun by corruption, inefficiency

Although the Gaza Strip has received millions from the Palestinian government and international donors, many of those in need have not received any aid while others are cashing in more than they should.
A Palestinian boy rides a bicycle past the ruins of houses that witnesses said were destroyed during a seven-week Israeli offensive, on a rainy day in the east of Gaza City October 19, 2014. An open-ended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza militants, mediated by Egypt, took effect on August 26 after a seven-week conflict. It called for an indefinite halt to hostilities, the immediate opening of Gaza's blockaded crossings with Israel and Egypt, and a widening of the territory's fishing zone in the M

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — A Gaza Ministry of Interior official told Al-Monitor that some relief organizations have stolen from financial and material aid intended to be distributed to Gaza Strip residents.

Ayman Ayesh, director of Gaza's General Administration of Public Affairs and NGO Department, told Al-Monitor that the department had uncovered a multitude of thefts. He said, “We arrested a member of an organization that had received special aid for the displaced, following complaints indicating that he was stealing from the organization headed by one of his relatives. The allegations were proven true following an investigation, and the thefts, amounting to half of the assistance received by the organization, were recovered.”

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