Palestinian girls walk on a street near the rubble of houses that were destroyed during the seven-week Israeli offensive, on October 4, 2014 in the northern district of Beit Hanun in the Gaza Strip on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha.MOHAMMED ABED/AFP / Getty Images
A senior official says the Palestinian unity government will hold its first Cabinet meeting in Gaza this week, a key step toward taking charge of reconstruction efforts in the war-battered territory.
Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa says the Cabinet will convene Thursday.
That's three days before an international pledging conference where the Palestinian government seeks $4-billion for Gaza, hit hard by a recent war between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas.
Donors view the unity government of independents led by Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as key to reconstruction plans.
Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas in 2007, but financial difficulties forced the group to hand over some powers to a unity government this spring. Unresolved disputes had kept the government from operating in Gaza until now.