US set to offer 'substantial' aid to Gaza

Published on Monday 23 February 2009 22:50

HILLARY Clinton, the US secretary of state, plans to announce a "substantial" pledge of US aid for Gaza and the Palestinian Authority at a donors' meeting in Egypt next week.

One of her officials said the US Congress still had to approve the money and a final figure had not been set, but it could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Monday's donors conference in the Sharm el-Sheikh resort aims to raise humanitarian and rebuilding funds for Gaza after Israel's invasion at the end of last year, which killed 1,300 Palestinians.

Preliminary estimates put the damage in Hamas-run Gaza following Israel's offensive at nearly $2 billion (1.4 billion).

Mrs Clinton's attempt to get "substantial" funds could face an uphill battle in Congress, where requests for aid for Gaza are likely meet resistance as long as Hamas is in charge, and where the focus is on the US's own struggling economy.