Israel said Monday that it has terminated the agreement facilitating the work of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza, in what appeared to be a step to implement legislation passed last month that would sever ties with the agency and prevent it from operating in Israel.
Israel says the agency, known as UNRWA, has been infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA denies the allegations and says it takes measures to ensure its neutrality.
Aid groups have warned that the legislation could severely hamper UNRWA’s work, creating further obstacles to addressing a severe 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, health and other basic services to Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation and their descendants, who now number nearly 6 million. Refugee families make up the majority of Gaza's population.
RELATED STORY | Israel wants to shut down the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. What would that mean?
On Sunday, Israel said its troops had carried out a ground raid into Syria to seize a Syrian it accuses of working with Iran. It was the first time in the current war that Israel announced its troops operated in Syrian territory.
Despite growing pressure from the United States and others in the international community for a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, intensified Israeli strikes against the Hezbollah militant group are expanding beyond Lebanon's border areas. Israel is also fighting a seemingly endless war against Hamas in northern Gaza.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted last year, at least 2,900 people have been killed and 13,150 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reports, not including Friday's toll. Health authorities say that a quarter of those killed were women and children.
More than a year of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants but say more than half of those killed were women and children. The war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.
The World Health Organization says hospitals in northern Gaza are under enormous strain and only minimally functional, with just one or two doctors treating patients as dozens of wounded patients desperately seek help.
The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza said it evacuated 72 patients from hospitals in northern Gaza to other medical facilities on Monday and brought medical supplies as well as fuel, food, water, and units of blood.
RELATED STORY | Blinken arrives in Israel as US looks to renew cease-fire efforts after the killing of Hamas leader
The announcement from the body, known as COGAT, came as the United States gave Israel a "fail" grade in terms of meeting the conditions for an improvement in aid deliveries to Gaza laid out in a letter last month to senior Israeli officials by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said there were still roughly nine days until the deadline expires, but that limited progress thus far has been insufficient.
"As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around," Miller told reporters. "We have seen an increase in some measurements. But if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met.
Miller also said the U.S. is studying a decision by the Israeli government to sever ties with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
At the same time, Miller said the U.S. is "deeply concerned" by a recent escalation in attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank.