Reconstruction of Gaza Strip needs several steps, including unity government, lifting blockade: EU

The reconstruction of the Gaza Strip needs several steps, including a unified Palestinian government and the lifting of the Israeli 15-year-old blockade, an EU representative said on Tuesday.

"These steps are not European Union conditions to the reconstruction [of Gaza], but a logical path to start this process," EU representative in Palestine Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff said at a news conference in Gaza.

Burgsdorff stressed conducting "democratic elections in Palestine."

He hailed Egyptian efforts to enable Gaza residents to live in stability and peace, as Egypt led efforts to solidify a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza.

Burgsdorff reiterated that the EU previously announced an initial grant of €34 million ($40 million) to support Gaza.

An Egyptian-brokered truce that took effect May 21 ended Israel's 11-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli attacks in Gaza and the West Bank killed at least 289 people, including women and children, and left a trail of destruction. Health centers and media offices, as well as schools, were among structures that were targeted.