Middle East latest: Israel ends deal with UN agency providing aid in Gaza

Israel said on Monday it had terminated the agreement that would facilitate the work of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza, in what appeared to be a move to implement legislation passed last month that would sever ties with the agency and prevent it from operating in Israel.

Israel says the organization, known as UNRWA, has been infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA denies the allegations and says it is taking measures to ensure its neutrality.

On Sunday, Israel said its forces had launched a ground attack on Syria to arrest a Syrian it accuses of collaborating with Iran. It was the first time in the current war that Israel announced that its troops would operate on Syrian territory.

Despite increasing pressure from the United States and others in the international community for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, intensified Israeli attacks on the militant group Hezbollah are expanding beyond Lebanon’s border areas. Israel is also waging a seemingly endless war against Hamas in northern Gaza.

At least 2,900 people have been killed and 13,150 injured in Lebanon since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah broke out last year, the Health Ministry said, not including Friday’s toll. Health authorities say a quarter of the deaths were women and children.

For more than a year, Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They make no distinction between civilians and fighters, but say more than half of the dead were women and children. The war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping 250 others.