Turkey continues to provide aid to Gaza, officials say

Turkey is continuing to provide aid to Gaza for reconstruction after Israel's devastating military offensive last summer, the Turkish Prime Ministry Office of Public Diplomacy said.

Officials added that Turkey provided $76.3 million to Gaza in 2014 and aid will reach $200 million by 2017.

The Israeli offensive left over 2,160 Palestinians dead, mostly civilians. The 51-day campaign also resulted in the death of 73 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Turkey had promised to provide $200 million during the 2015-2017 term to support the reconstruction of Gaza and the sustainable development of Palestine.

Turkey also said the aid will be carried out on a project basis, step by step.

"If the Turkish Republic makes a promise, that promise will be fulfilled," Serdar Cam, head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), told Anadolu Agency. "Our statesman's promise does not hang in the air."

"$200 million will be provided to Gaza (by Turkey)," he added.

The projects are formed as development-focused and in line with the requirements of the Palestinian people, according to Turkish diplomatic sources. Projects in health, education, water, waste water, emergency fuel support and food will be prioritized.

Cam stated that Turkey's many institutions, non-governmental organizations and local governments are working hard to help Gaza, but the blockade and permissions are making the process slower.

He also criticized recent media claims, based on a World Bank report issued Thursday, that said Turkey only fulfilled part of its promises to the people of Gaza.

"Some known circles create misinformation about Turkey, although they know the facts and our efforts in Gaza," he said. "The people who unjustly criticize Turkey, however, cannot display the will and courage to criticize Israel, which vandalizes Gaza."

The World Bank has published an alarming report on the Gaza Strip's economic situation.

Steen Lau Jorgensen, World Bank country director for the West Bank and Gaza, said Gaza's unemployment and poverty figures were very troubling and the economic outlook was "worrying."

"Blockades, war and poor governance have strangled Gaza's economy and the unemployment rate is now the highest in the world," the World Bank said. "Unemployment in Gaza is the highest in the world at 43 percent."

The report said even more alarming was the situation of youth unemployment, noting that the joblessness rate soared to more than 60 percent by the end of 2014.

"Nearly 80 percent of Gaza's population receives some kind of social assistance and nearly 40 percent of them still fall below the poverty line," the bank said. "Recovery is conditional upon easing of the blockade to allow reconstruction materials to enter in sufficient quantities and to lift the exports out, as well as donor financing for reconstruction."

Gaza has been under an all-out Israeli blockade since 2007, a measure that has deprived the coastal territory's approximately 1.9 million residents of the most basic needs.