REBUILDING BEGINS ON DESTROYED GAZA HOMES

Gaza City, Gaza Strip — Undeterred by scorching heat, Palestinian workers in Gaza on Thursday hammered nails into wooden boards and jolted steel bars as they lay the foundations for the first group of homes to be rebuilt since the war with Israel last summer. The work brought a rare glimmer of hope to a territory that remains devastated a year after the fighting. The long-awaited reconstruction started in Shijaiyah, one of Gaza’s areas that was hardest hit during the 50-day war between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas group.