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☆ Nearly a hundred aid trucks looted in Gaza, as UN warns of ‘collapse of law and order’
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Pauline Lockwood | Hira Humayun | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Nearly a hundred aid trucks were looted in southern Gaza on Saturday in what UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has described as “one of the worst” incidents of its kind. Of the 109 trucks carrying food supplies for UNRWA and the World Food Programme from the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, 97 trucks were “lost” in the looting, UNRWA told CNN in a statement Monday. Drivers were forced to unload trucks at gun point, aid workers were injured, and vehicles were damaged extensively, it said. In a report Monday that cited Gaza’s interior ministry, the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV channel claimed Gaza security forces had killed more than 20 people involved in looting aid trucks, though it did not specifically mention Saturday’s incident. Israel insists however that the number of aid trucks entering Gaza has risen and that it is “working tirelessly” to get aid into the enclave.

Persons: Philippe Lazzarini, Stéphane Dujarric –, ”, Lazzarini, “, ” Lazzarini, Dr, Munir Al, Bursh, Hani Badran, Kamal Adwan, Badran, Hussam Abu Safiya, Safiya, ” Safiya Organizations: CNN, UNRWA, UN, Drivers, Monday, Islamic Forces, COGAT, US State Department, West Bank, Hamas, Israel, ” CNN Locations: Gaza, Geneva, Aqsa, Israel, East Jerusalem, Beit Lahiya

☆ Small fraction of essential aid is entering Gaza, U.N. warns ahead of U.S. deadline
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Abigail-Williams-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Abigail Williams | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: 1 min

As Israel faced a U.S. deadline to ramp up access to aid in Gaza on Tuesday, leading humanitarians were warning that only a fraction of the desperately needed help was reaching the Palestinian enclave. An average of just over 30 trucks a day have been let into Gaza in recent weeks, representing “just over six percent of the daily needs,” according to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. “What is being allowed into Gaza is not enough,” he wrote in a post on X on Friday. Before Israel launched its offensive in Gaza, around 500 trucks entered the enclave each day, according to the British Red Cross. Lazzarini's warning came ahead of the deadline set by Washington for Israel to meet a host of requirements aimed at boosting aid into Gaza or face restrictions on U.S. military assistance, as required under U.S. law.

Persons: Israel, Philippe Lazzarini, ” Organizations: United Nations, UNRWA, Israel Locations: U.S, Gaza, “, British, Washington, Israel

☆ Israel has long wanted to dismantle the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency. The consequences could be disastrous for all
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-03 | by ( Mick Krever | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Nor, he said, was he motivated by the claim that UNRWA perpetuates Palestinian refugee status. AFP/Getty ImagesThe entrance to Aida Refugee Camp, near Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. “If they shut down UNRWA, that means there is no Palestinian refugee cause. Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Getty ImagesAn UNRWA school in al-Am'ari Refugee Camp, in Ramallah, in the West Bank. Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, after an Israeli raid in September.

Persons: Jerusalem CNN — Benjamin Netanyahu, –, “, Nikki Haley, ”, Israel –, Donald Trump’s, Netanyahu –, Trump’s, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – Netanyahu, ‘, Boaz, Hani Alshaer, Israel, ” –, Netanyahu, Aaron David Miller, Mick Krever, ” Philippe Lazzarini, they’re, Diana Buttu, ’ Saleh Shunnar, “ Israel, Miller, Mahmoud Issa, Deir, Abd Abu Amra, Dawoud Abo, Issam, Chris Sidoti, Nadav Tamir, ’, Nur Shams, Mohamad Torokman, Jerusalem –, don’t, ” Tamir, Zeena, Abeer Salman, Mohammed Al, Shira Gemer Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, US, United, UN, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, West Bank, UNRWA, Israel Defense Forces, Qassam, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Washington Post, Assembly, CNN, Refugees, UNHCR, Reuters, Dawoud, Dawoud Abo Alkas, East, UN’s Independent International Commission of, Geneva Convention, Anadolu, J, Israel Locations: Jerusalem, Israel, American, Gaza, ”, Hamas, Be’eri, British, Palestine, AFP, Bethlehem, Swiss, “, Deir Al, Palestinian, Gaza City, Anadolu, al, Ramallah, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, East Jerusalem, Australian, Palestinian Territory, “ Israel, Geneva, New York, Tulkarm

UNRWA provides far more than humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Many Palestinians see darker motives, viewing the UNRWA ban as Israel's latest attempt to make their lives unlivable, first imprisoning and bombing them, now taking away their main aid lifeline. Palestinians wait to receive medicines at the UNRWA health center in Khan Younis last month. Despite its endorsements, the United States is yet to resume funding to UNRWA after Israel's Oct. 7 allegations. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has said it will use other agencies, such as the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization, to distribute aid.

Persons: ”, Scott Paul, Ariel Schalit, ” Mustafa Barghouti, Ahmad Gharabli, Khan Younis, Bashar Taleb, —, Matthew Miller, “, David Lammy, Hazem Bader, Oren Marmorstein, António Guterres, Philippe Lazzarini Organizations: United Nations, UNRWA —, Hamas, UNRWA, Oxfam America, Palestinian National Initiative, NBC, United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, West Bank, Getty, ”, British, West, Foreign Ministry, NBC News, Israeli Foreign Ministry, Food, World Health Organization, General Locations: Gaza, Gaza City, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Jerusalem, AFP, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, United States, U.S, North Korea, West Bank, Hebron, Israel's

☆ Israeli airstrike hits Gaza's Beit Lahia, Hezbollah names new leader after Knesset bans UNRWA
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alexander Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

It came hours after the Israeli parliament outlawed a key United Nations aid agency in a move that could throttle the supply of medicine, food and education in the devastated territory. Gaza airstrike kills dozensThe strike hit a five-story building in the northern city of Beit Lahia housing some 200 people, according to the Gaza government media office. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday's airstrike from NBC News. The law bans UNRWA, the U.N.'s Palestinian aid agency, from operating inside Israel or having any contact with Israeli authorities. But Israel has long criticized UNRWA, alleging it has been infiltrated by Hamas and intensifying that pushback after Oct. 7.

Persons: —, Sheikh Naim Kassem —, Hassan Nasrallah, Kamal Adwan, It's, Philippe Lazzarini, Matthew Miller Organizations: Hezbollah, Palestinian Health Ministry, Health Ministry, Israel Defense Forces, NBC News, AFP, Getty, West Bank, UNRWA, State Locations: Gaza, Nations, Lebanon, Iran, Beit, Beit Lahia, Israel, United States, Washington, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Britain

Israel's parliament voted Monday to ban the operations of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the main humanitarian aid agency operating in Gaza. "This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to #Palestine Refugees," Lazzarini wrote. UNRWA is a U.N. aid organization established in 1949 to provide aid and protection to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Some Israeli critics have said that the agency perpetuates a false narrative that Palestinians are refugees, which Lazzarini referenced in his statement. And U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was declared “persona non grata" by Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, and was banned from entering Israel.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Philippe Lazzarini, Israel, Biden, Matthew Miller, Miller, Lazzarini, Netanyahu, Michael Martin, Boaz, Antonio Guterres, Israel Katz Organizations: United Nations, UNRWA, . State Department, State Department, Palestine Refugees, West, UN, Ireland, Agency, Assembly, Israel Defense Forces, . Interim Forces, U.N Locations: Gaza, Israeli, Israel, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, France, Germany, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, East, organization’s

But even some who managed to escape Israel’s offensive in the north and head farther south toward Gaza City did not survive. The Jerusalem-based human rights group B'Tselem echoed the accusation Tuesday, calling on the international community to "stop the ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza." He also said the "General's plan," a proposal calling for Israel to force the evacuation of residents from northern Gaza through starvation, had not been adopted as Israeli policy. Images released by the IDF of Monday show what it says is a crowd of civilians fleeing the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Images published by the Israel Defense Forces over the weekend, showing dozens of men being detained in northern Gaza as thousands of people fled the area en masse, have also sparked alarm.

Persons: Kamal Adwan, Mahmoud Ouda, Israel, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shin Organizations: Gaza’s Civil Defense, NBC, Ismail Amro, Arabi, UNICEF, Wednesday, World Health, Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency Locations: Beit Lahia, Gaza, Al, Ahli, Gaza City, Israel, Jerusalem, U.S

This is the picture painted of Jabalya, northern Gaza, by the emergency services chief in the area. “You can see the signs of hunger on the people in northern Gaza,” Fares Afana, the head of emergency services in northern Gaza, told CNN by phone on Monday. The 400,000 who remain in northern Gaza are stalked by hunger and face thunderous bombardment. The UN has accused the Israeli military of forcing residents of northern Gaza to choose between starvation or relocation. On Tuesday, at least 17 people were killed in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense.

Persons: ” Afana, ”, Afana, ’, ” Philippe Lazzarini, “, Israel “ Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Humanitarian Affairs, UN, “, Palestine, UNRWA, Monday, Sa’eed, ” CNN, Gaza’s, Media, Civil Defense Locations: Gaza, Israel, Yemen, Jabalya

On the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks, Gaza’s north was hit with more Israeli strikes, with no end in sight to the war devastating the enclave. Israel’s objective of defeating Hamas still seems far from reach as its military offensives in Gaza continue to ramp up. Israel launched a new ground operation in northern Gaza on Sunday and encircled the Jabalya refugee camp, where it says it saw signs of Hamas regrouping. Earlier this year, Israel’s military said it had defeated Hamas in northern Gaza, only to announce new offensives there in May. The camp was targeted early on in Israel’s response to Hamas’ attacks one year ago and has been struck several times during the war.

Persons: ”, haven’t, ” Lena, Philippe Lazzarini Organizations: Hamas, United Nations, Residents, CNN, Mercy Corps, UN, UNRWA Locations: Gaza, Israel, Jabalya, Israeli

☆ West Bank: UNRWA staffer among ten killed during Israel military operation
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN - A United Nations staff member was among 10 people killed during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military and the UN said on Friday. Jawwad – the first UNRWA staffer to be killed in the West Bank in more than 10 years – is survived by his wife and five children, according to UNRWA. The other people killed in the Israeli operation over the past 48 hours were killed in the areas of Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Tubas, according to the IDF. Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said the five killed in Tubas were members of the Tubas Battalion in the West Bank who were “preparing ambushes and explosive devices against” Israeli forces. Operations in the West BankThe death comes amid increasing Israeli military action in the West Bank.

Persons: Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad, “, Jawwad, ” Juliette Touma, Nadav Shoshani, ” Shoshani, –, Philippe Lazzarini, Jawwad’s, Nur Shams, Tubas, Nur, UNWRA, Antony Blinken, Aysenur Ezgi, Eygi, CNN’s Mounira Elsamra Organizations: CNN, United Nations, West Bank, UN, United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees, Israel Defense Forces, UNRWA, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IDF, Quds Brigades, Tubas Battalion, Operations, Palestinian Ministry of Health Locations: El Far’a, Gaza, Israel, Tulkarem, Al, Quds, El, Nur Shams, Jenin, Ramallah

CNN —At least 18 people, including United Nations staff, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a UN school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Gaza Civil Defense and hospital officials. This is the fifth time that the school compound has been targeted since October 7, according to the UN agency and a Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson. Mahmoud Basal, a Gaza Civil Defense spokesman, said search operations were ongoing amid the rubble, with children and women among the injured. In a separate attack, at least nine members of the same family were killed in an Israeli strike in Jabalya, northern Gaza, it said. Footage of the aftermath, published by Gaza’s Civil Defense, showed the dismembered limbs of children.

Persons: “, ”, Mahmoud, Philippe Lazzarini, ” Hani Haniya, Fadel Abu Hdayyeh, Khan Younis Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, Gaza Civil Defense, UNRWA, Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Air Force, Al, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Civil Defense, Gaza’s Civil Defense Locations: Gaza, Nuseirat, Israel, Geneva, Al, Aqsa, Khan, Khuza’a, Jabalya

☆ At least 40 killed in Israeli strike on tent camp in Gaza humanitarian zone, Palestinians say
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-10 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a crowded tent camp housing Palestinians displaced by the war in Gaza killed at least 40 people and wounded 60 others early Tuesday, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas militants who were operating in a command-and-control center. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their Oct. 7 attack. UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said the staffers who were held had been taking part in the campaign in northern Gaza and Gaza City.

Persons: Israel, Attaf al, Shaar, ”, Nasser, Khan Younis, Philippe Lazzarini Organizations: Civil Defense, Hamas, Associated Press, Nasser Hospital, Gaza’s Health Ministry, United Nations, UNRWA, UN Locations: DEIR, Gaza, Mawasi, Israel, Rafah, Khan, United States, Egypt, Qatar, Gaza City, “

“We still don’t know with full certainty what transpired and what happened, and that’s why we are working to get as much information as we can," State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said. They called for an independent U.S.-ordered investigation and said an Israeli investigation would not be enough. Patel said that Israel is conducting an investigation and that the State Department expects a formal process for releasing findings. The bodies of six hostages, including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were recovered in a tunnel under Rafah late last month. In Gaza, local officials have said more than 40,000 people have been killed since Israeli forces launched its offensive in response to the Hamas attacks.

Persons: “, Vedant Patel, ”, Patel, Israel, ” Patel, Philippe Lazzarini, ” Lazzarini, Hersh Goldberg Organizations: West Bank, State Department, Department, University of Washington, International Solidarity Movement, Israeli Defense Forces, Justice Department, Hamas, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UN Locations: Israel, American, U.S, Seattle, Gaza, East, Rafah

CNN —The Israeli military detained a convoy of United Nations vehicles for several hours in northern Gaza on Monday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement they were acting “following intelligence that a number of Palestinian suspects were present in the convoy” and delayed it to question them. The IDF said the convoy was not involved in the transport of polio vaccines but was being used instead to exchange UN personnel. A military official later told CNN the suspects and the convoy had been released. In a post on X, Lazzarini said the convoy contained national and international staff members who were meant to be rolling out the UN’s polio vaccination campaign for children in Gaza City and northern Gaza.

Persons: Philippe Lazzarini, –, Lazzarini, ” Lazzarini Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, UN, Israeli Armed Forces Locations: Gaza, Gaza City

Nine staff members who worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees may have been involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to a now-completed investigation conducted by The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). Since then, Israel declared war on Hamas and has killed over 40,000 people in Gaza, according to officials there. A total of 19 UNRWA staff members in Gaza were investigated by the OIOS for allegedly being involved in the attack, Lazzarini said. In one case, no evidence was found to support that the staff member in question was involved in the attack on Israel, according to Lazzarini. In nine cases, the evidence obtained was "insufficient to support the staff members' involvement," according to the news release.

Persons: Israel, Philippe Lazzarini, Lazzarini, António Guterres Organizations: United Nations Relief, Works Agency for, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, The, U.S, UNRWA, Palestine Refugees, United Nations, West Locations: Works Agency for Palestine, Israel, Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

☆ UN probe finds 9 UNRWA employees ‘may have’ been involved in Oct. 7 attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Richard Roth | Mick Krever | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The investigation was launched in January after Israel accused some UNRWA employees of participating in the attack that left 1,200 people in Israel dead. “The evidence obtained by OIOS indicated that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October 2023,” OIOS said in a statement. Nonetheless, UNWRA in January said that it had terminated the accused employees’ contracts. They also reviewed UNRWA employees’ communications and media reports. “Because of safety concerns,” they did not meet with the accused UNRWA staff or corroborating witnesses.

Persons: Israel, Juliette Touma, OIOS, ” OIOS, Nadav Shoshani, ”, Philippe Lazzarini, –, Aharon Haliva, “ Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UNRWA, UN, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Israel Defense Forces, Palestine Refugees, Israel Defense Forces ’ Military Intelligence Directorate, United Locations: Gaza, Israel, East, New York, Geneva, Brussels, UNWRA, United States

Palestinians returned to the eastern side of Khan Younis in Gaza on Tuesday after Israeli forces pulled out of the area. The Israeli military has designated just one area of the Gaza Strip as a “humanitarian zone” for displaced people — and that area keeps shrinking. In the latest downsizing, the military on Saturday ordered the evacuation of two more parts of central Gaza that had been part of the humanitarian zone. Since last week, Israel has evacuated more than a fifth of the area that it had previously declared a humanitarian zone. There is no more place for any tents at the beach or in Mawasi,” he added, referring to the humanitarian zone.

Persons: Khan Younis, Philippe Lazzarini, Mr, Lazzarini, Mohammed Harbi, Harbi, Duaa, ”, Fura, “, Osama, Sammak, Abu Bakr Bashir, Ameera Harouda Organizations: Saturday, United Nations, New York Times, Hamas, “, Sunday Locations: Gaza, Israel, Deir al, ISRAEL, Rafah EGYPT Rafah, Kerem Shalom, Rafah EGYPT, Shalom, Rafah, Khan, Nuseirat, Bureij, Deir, Mawasi, London, Doha, Qatar, Istanbul

On Sunday, the Israeli military claimed to have targeted Hamas’ military chief and killed a Hamas brigade commander in an airstrike in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said its air force struck the location where “a number of terrorists” were operating. Palestinians and UN workers examine the destroyed UNRWA school in Nuseirat refugee camp of Deir al-Balah, Gaza on July 15, 2024. Meanwhile, the latest Israeli strikes have put new pressure on the success of ongoing ceasefire and hostage negotiations, which hit yet another roadblock last week. The Israeli military is verifying whether he was killed while Netanyahu acknowledged it is uncertain whether he died.

Persons: Israel, amputees, ”, “, Ruwaida Issa, Khan Younis, Nasser, Scott Anderson, Abed Rahim Khatib, Abu, ” Mary Al Sammouna, ” Samir Tafesh, Tal, Philippe Lazzarini, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Benjamin Netanyahu –, –, Mohammed Deif, Deif, Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, Gaza Health Ministry, UNRWA Affairs, Anadolu, Getty, UNRWA, Gaza Ministry, Health, Civil Defense, Humanitarian Affairs, Al, Israel’s Locations: Gaza, Khan, Israel, Al, Deir, Nuseirat, Gaza City

☆ Gaza population at risk of famine as it continues to face emergency levels of hunger, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“A high risk of famine persists across the whole of the Gaza Strip as long as conflict continues and humanitarian access is restricted,” the report said. The Rafah crossing – a key transitway for humanitarian aid to Gaza – has been closed since early May, and only a handful of other land crossings remain open. Humanitarian aid workers continue to face tremendous risks to try to distribute the desperately needed aid to Gaza. “The humanitarian space in the Gaza Strip continues to shrink and the ability to safely deliver assistance to populations is dwindling,” the report said. “The humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly, and the specter of famine continues to hang over Gaza,” Phillips-Barrasso told CNN.

Persons: “, Gaza –, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Israel, Matthew Miller, dory, it’s, ”, Cindy McCain, “ There’s, It’s, Kate Phillips, ” Phillips, Barrasso, Philippe Lazzarini Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Integrated, IPC, ”, Food, Mercy Corps, “, UNRWA Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, United States

A day after Israeli forces bombed a U.N. school complex in central Gaza that had become a shelter for displaced Palestinians, some of the facts remain unclear or under contention. The multistory building was one of several that made up the UNRWA Nuseirat Boys’ Preparatory School. It was one of the many schools in Gaza run by the main U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Like all of the territory’s schools, it stopped operating as a school in October, after Hamas led an assault on Israel, and Israel began its retaliatory bombing campaign. Philippe Lazzarini, the director of the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, said 6,000 people had been living in the school.

Persons: Israel, Philippe Lazzarini Organizations: UNRWA, Boys ’ Preparatory, Israel Locations: Gaza, Israel, Nuseirat

☆ The U.N. Relief Agency Protests Israeli Attacks - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Philippe Lazzarini | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The war in Gaza has produced a blatant disregard for the mission of the United Nations, including outrageous attacks on the employees, facilities and operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. As I write this, our agency has verified that at least 192 UNRWA employees have been killed in Gaza. UNRWA-run schools have been demolished; some 450 displaced people have been killed while sheltered inside UNRWA schools and other structures. Since Oct. 7, Israeli security forces have rounded up UNRWA personnel in Gaza, who have alleged torture and mistreatment while in detention in the Strip and in Israel. In April, gunfire hit World Food Program and UNICEF vehicles, apparently inadvertently but despite coordination with the Israeli authorities.

Organizations: United Nations, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, West Bank, Agency, Food Program, UNICEF Locations: Gaza, Israel, West, East Jerusalem

☆ More Than 800,000 Have Fled Rafah, UN Official Says: Israel-Hamas War Latest Updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Top NewsMore than 800,000 people have had to relocate from the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip in the past two weeks, crowding into other parts of the territory without access to the most basic hygiene and infrastructure, a United Nations official said on Monday. The latest wave of displacement in Gaza began in early May when Israel sent out evacuation notices and launched military operations in Rafah, which is along the border with Egypt. More than half of the enclave’s civilians had been seeking refuge in the city — most of them after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Gaza multiple times. Israel’s military said on Monday that more than 950,000 civilians had left the Rafah area since its expanded evacuation orders. Israel has cast the orders as a humanitarian step to protect civilians ahead of further military action, which they say is necessary to root out Hamas fighters in southern Gaza.

Persons: Israel, Edem, Khan Younis, Deir al Balah, “, ” Ms, Wosornu, Philippe Lazzarini, ” Organizations: United Nations, Security, Maxar Technologies, Reuters, Humanitarian Affairs Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Khan

☆ UNRWA to close East Jerusalem headquarters after arson attack by ‘Israeli extremists’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Hande Atay Alam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees will shutter its East Jerusalem headquarters after the compound was set on fire by “Israeli extremists” while staff were inside, its chief said Thursday. “This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. This took place while UNRWA and other UN Agencies’ staff were on the compound,” Lazzarini said. Israeli officials have long criticized UNRWA, which plays a central role in feeding and sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees. Anything less will set a new dangerous standard.”CNN has reached out to the Israeli government for comment.

Persons: ”, Philippe Lazzarini, ” Lazzarini, Lazzarini, “, UNWRA, Israel Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UNRWA, ’, UN Locations: Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Israel

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Netanyahu criticizes US sanctions plans, UNRWA review
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

An independent review of the UN's main relief agency in Gaza has found that “neutrality-related issues persist” among staff, and recommended strengthening UNRWA's neutrality. Israel has longstanding issues with UNRWA, accusing it of aiding Hamas and calling for it to be entirely dismantled. What the UN said: UN chief Antonio Guterres accepted the recommendations, while UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini welcomed the findings. What Israel said: The review was not "genuine" or "thorough," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein claimed. "This is what an effort to avoid the problem and not address it head on looks like," he said.

Persons: Israel, Catherine Colonna, Antonio Guterres, Philippe Lazzarini, Oren Marmorstein Organizations: French, UN, Foreign Ministry Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ U.N. Peacekeepers Injured in Lebanon Blast as Tensions Rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | Euan Ward | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The Israeli authorities have denied blocking UNRWA, but Israel and the aid agency have been locked in a dispute over not only responsibility for the crisis, but also the status of UNRWA itself. UNRWA suspended the staff members and opened an investigation, but some of its biggest donors have since suspended funding. U.N. officials and international aid groups have reported severe and deadly malnutrition in Gaza and have blamed Israel, which inspects every truckload aid. In some cases, crowds of people have swarmed the trucks, stripping them of supplies. The World Food Program said that only 11 of its convoys carrying food had reached the north since the start of the year.

Persons: Philippe Lazzarini, Israel, Lazzarini, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Natalia Kanem, “ Organizations: Nations, International Court of Justice, United Nations, UNRWA, “, Food Program Locations: Israel, Gaza, The Hague

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