Gaza City - The radical Islamic organisation Hamas said Thursday it would begin Sunday making cash payments to victims of the recent Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip.

Taher al Nuni, spokesman for the Hamas-led government in the Strip, said families of those killed in the offensive would receive 1,000 euros, while the wounded would each receive 500 euros.

Owners of destroyed homes would receive 4,000 euros to help rebuilding work, and those whose homes were damaged would receive 2,000 euros.

Al Nuni specified the sums in euros, but he did not say where the money would be coming from.

Officials at the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the Strip have said over 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli offensive, while a leading Palestinian human rights organization put the figure at nearly 1,300, around 70 per cent of them civilians. (dpa)