Tokyo  - The Japanese government on Friday sent 1 million dollars of relief goods to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, officials said.

Japan's assistance was aimed at helping make temporary shelters for civilian victims of Israel's military attacks on the strip, which destroyed thousands of homes.

It included 29,000 blankets, 20,000 sleeping mats and 8,000 plastic sheets and is to be sent to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Japan has already contributed about 10 million dollars of emergency aid to the reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip.

Three million dollars of the emergency aid would go to the UN Children's Fund, particularly for medical supplies, and 4 million dollars would be provided to the World Food Programme, the Foreign Ministry said.

More than 1,400 people were killed and 5,500 others were injured in the Israeli offensive. (dpa)