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

Israel said on Monday it had terminated the agreement that facilitated the work of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. the main aid provider in Gazain what appeared to be a move to implement legislation passed last month that would cut 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 done so carried out a ground attack on Syria to arrest a Syrian he 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 growing pressure from the United States and others in the international community for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, the intensification of Israeli attacks on the militant group Hezbollah is expanding outside the border areas of Lebanon. Israel is also fighting one 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.

Over 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. kidnapping 250 others.

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Here’s the latest:

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel said Monday it had terminated the agreement that facilitated the work of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. the main aid provider in Gaza.

It appeared to be the first step in implementing legislation passed last month that would cut ties with the agency, which Israel says is infiltrated by Hamas, and prevent it from operating in Israel.

The agency, known as UNRWA, denies the allegations and says it is taking measures to ensure its neutrality.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had informed the UN of the cancellation of a 1967 agreement that facilitates UNRWA’s work. It said UNRWA “is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution.”

Aid groups have warned that the legislation could seriously hamper UNRWA’s workcreating further obstacles to tackling a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel has said other U.N. agencies and aid groups can fill the gap, but those organizations say UNRWA is essential.

The agency provides education, healthcare and other basic services to Palestinian refugees the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel and their descendants, who now number nearly 6 million. Refugee families make up the majority of Gaza’s population.