UN suspends Gaza work due to supply shortage

JERUSALEM (AFP) - The UN said Monday it has suspended its building projects in the Gaza Strip due to a shortage of supplies following Hamas's violent seizure of the Palestinian territory last month.

"Some 93 million dollars-worth of projects are on hold because cement and other building supplies have run out," John Ging, the director of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, said in a statement.

The construction projects include schools, community centers, water and sanitation works as well as medical facilities.

Some 80 percent of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip rely on UN aid, and 121,000 people are dependent on the income from the construction projects, UNRWA said.

"The closure of the borders means a loss of over a million days of employment, placing an even larger burden on our humanitarian aid program", said Ging.