Saudi Arabia has contributed US$80m towards reconstructing Gaza homes destroyed during the 2014 Israeli military bombing, Minister of Housing, Mufeed Hasayneh, said on Thursday.

He told a press conference in Gaza that US$40m will be disbursed in cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to 1300 beneficiaries, while US$10m of the remaining US$40m will go toward reconstructing 274 homes in coordination with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Hasayneh said that once the current projects are completed, almost 89 per cent of the Gaza reconstruction plan would be completed.

The housing minister also said Israel recently approved 876 applications for purchase of cement for private use in Gaza. He said a total of 1.6Mt of cement have been imported from Israel as part of the Gaza reconstruction plan.