More than 90 people, including 20 children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza. This attack was part of Israel’s renewed assault on the northern part of the Palestinian enclave. The strike hit a five-story building in the city of Beit Lahia, leaving 93 dead, 40 missing, and dozens injured. The nearby hospital had no doctors to treat the wounded due to a dayslong siege by Israeli forces.
In Lebanon, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah named a new leader after the killing of its chief Hassan Nasrallah. Meanwhile, Israel’s parliament outlawed the UN aid agency, UNRWA, which could worsen the already dire situation in Gaza by restricting essential supplies like medicine and food.
Israel’s move to ban UNRWA has drawn criticism from international allies, including the United States. The agency was established in 1949 to provide aid to Palestinians displaced by the war surrounding the creation of Israel. The law will severely restrict or prevent UNRWA’s activities in Gaza and the West Bank, controlled by Israel.
The US, along with other countries, expressed deep concern over the legislation, emphasizing the crucial role UNRWA plays in delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. The decision to outlaw the agency has been viewed as a campaign to discredit and delegitimize UNRWA. Despite international objections, Israel’s new law is set to take effect in three months, potentially exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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