Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for the United Nations' refugee agency for Palestinians to be "replaced with agencies dedicated to genuine peace and development" after allegations that members of its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas terror attacks.
In a social-media post, Katz urged that countries follow the example of the United States, Australia, Canada, Britain, Italy and Finland in pausing funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA.
The U.K. foreign office said Saturday it was temporarily pausing funding for UNRWA while the accusations were being reviewed, noting that London had condemned the October 7 attacks as "heinous" terrorism.
The United States, Australia and Canada had already paused funding to the aid agency after Israel’s accusations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the cross-border attack. The refugee agency has opened an investigation into several employees after it severed ties with them.
Set up to help refugees of the 1948 war at Israel’s founding, UNRWA provides education, health and aid services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It helps about two-thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million population and has played a crucial aid role during the current war.
The Palestinian foreign ministry criticized what it described as an Israeli campaign against UNRWA, and the Hamas militant group condemned the termination of employee contracts "based on information derived from the Zionist enemy."
“We call on the countries that announced the cessation of their support for #UNRWA to immediately reverse their decision, which entails great political and humanitarian relief risks, as at this particular time and in light of the continuing aggression against the Palestinian people,” Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Saturday.
In Gaza
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday that 174 Palestinians were killed and 310 were wounded in the past 24 hours. At least 26,257 people have been killed since the beginning of the conflict in October and 64,797 people wounded, the ministry said.
In Hamas’ attack on October 7, 1,200 people were killed in Israel and roughly 240 were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. More than 100 were released during a cease-fire in November.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire pummeled Gaza’s southern Khan Younis area. Witnesses said Saturday, three Palestinians were killed in an airstrike that Israel’s military says was targeting a Hamas commander in southern Gaza.
The Israeli military said it killed at least 11 gunmen who were trying to plant explosives near troops and others firing rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at soldiers in Khan Younis Saturday, while over the past week, its commandos killed more than 100 militants and raided weapons warehouses, it said.
Hamas said its fighters fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli tank in southwest Khan Younis, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group — which is supporting Hamas — said it fired rockets into Israel and was fighting against Israeli forces.
Israel’s heavy assault and bad weather is hitting displaced Palestinian refugees in Gaza hard, residents say. The Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli strikes hit near the largest functioning medical facility in the south, Nasser Hospital, and Al Amal Hospital, killing one person.
The Israeli military says it is in contact with hospital directors and medical staff by phone and on the ground to make sure that the hospitals are running and are accessible.
Israel says Hamas operates in and around medical facilities, an allegation Hamas denies.
Hopes for the hostages
On Friday, the White House expressed hope for progress in talks to secure the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said President Joe Biden spoke with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Friday, as well as Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in efforts to free the hostages.
The mediators are trying to negotiate a new cease-fire to halt the fighting to allow the release of more hostages and jailed Palestinians held by Israel. About 100 hostages held by Hamas and 240 Palestinians jailed by Israel were freed in a late November weeklong cease-fire.
So far, no new cease-fire agreement has been reached.
International Court ruling
In a majority ruling of at least 15 out of 17 judges Friday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and do more to help civilians, but it stopped short of ordering a cease-fire as requested by the plaintiff, South Africa.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the decision was a welcome reminder that "no state is above the law." Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the ruling would contribute to "isolating the occupation and exposing [Israel’s] crimes in Gaza."
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the ICJ's decision not to order a cease-fire but rejected the claim of genocide as "outrageous" and said that Israel would continue to defend itself and that the war aimed at eliminating Hamas would continue.
Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., U.K, EU and others.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
