GAZA, June 2, 2006 (WAFA) - Mercy Corps said it provided over the past week staple food supplies - including sacks of flour and sugar and large bottles of vegetable oil - to 300 families in Al Mawassi, south of Gaza Strip.

Mercy Corps added that these families also received household supplies such as detergent, water barrels, pots, pans and dishware.

Mercy Corps' local partner, Ard El Insan, a Palestinian health agency, selected the beneficiaries from among its most dire cases.

Mercy Corps also is exploring a jobs program that would provide short-term employment to members of the most vulnerable families, helping them alleviate a crushing financial burden and injecting some much-needed cash into the local economy.

A.D. (22:23 P) (19:23 GMT)