Donor's Pledge $4.48 Billion in New Gaza AidBy Edward Yeranian

Representatives from donor nations meeting in Egypt have pledged more than $4.4 billion in new aid to help rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip after the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said international donors meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh have pledged more than $5 billion for Gaza reconstruction.

The Egyptian foreign minister says the participants at the conference pledged the sum of $4.481 billion dollars in fresh money at Monday's session ... and he says if you add previous pledges that some donor nations have reiterated, the figure comes to $5.2 billion, a figure that well exceeded expectations.

It is nearly twice the amount sought by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.