Saturday, January 27, 2024
15:11 GMT - Hamas has condemned the termination of contracts for some staffers of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
"We strongly denounce the agency's decision to terminate the contracts of several UNRWA staffers in Gaza based on Israeli information regarding the alleged involvement of these staffers in the events of Oct 7," Hamas said on Telegram.
The contracts were terminated "without completing all the requirements of a fair and impartial investigation," it added.
14:39 GMT - US, British 'defensive' strikes won't end Houthi attacks: Yemen leader
Yemeni leader has said "defensive" US and British strikes on the Houthis aren't enough and called for US and Saudi support to "eliminate" their ability to stage attacks on Red Sea shipping.
"Defensive operations are not the solution," Rashad Al Alimi, head of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), told a briefing with journalists in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
"The solution is to eliminate the Houthis' military capabilities."
13:58 GMT - African Union chief 'welcomes' UN court Gaza ruling
The African Union Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat has welcomed the UN top court's decision that Israel should do everything it can to prevent any acts of genocide in Gaza.
"The ruling upholds the respect of international law and the need for Israel to imperatively comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention," Faki said in a social media statement.
13:44 GMT - UK 'temporarily pausing' aid to UN agency for Palestinian refugees
The British government has said it would be "temporarily pausing any future funding" to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
"The UK is appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel," the Foreign Office said.
It added that the aid would be put on hold while "we review these concerning allegations."
13:15 GMT - Heavy rains cause flooding in camps sheltering Palestinians
Heavy rains in Gaza have exacerbated the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in tents and shelter centres.
Water from Friday's rains flooded thousands of camps inundating the belongings of the residents and leaving them without blankets and warm clothes, Palestinian Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told Anadolu.
"Heavy rains inundated many low-lying areas in Gaza, we received more than a thousand warnings about flooded tents and homes in various governorates of Gaza," he added.
12:55 GMT - Israel vows to stop UN agency's activities in Gaza after war
Israel has vowed to stop the UN agency at the heart of humanitarian efforts in Gaza from operating after the war.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Friday it had fired several staff over Israel's accusations.
The UN agency promised a thorough investigation into the claims, which were not specified.
11:58 GMT - Israeli army detains 20 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The Israeli army has detained 20 more Palestinians in various areas of the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
According to a joint statement issued by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since October 7 to 6,305.
The latest arrests took place in the occupied governorates of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Jericho and East Jerusalem.
10:24 GMT - Palestinian death toll tops 26,250 as Israel resumes its bombing
At least 174 Palestinians were killed and 310 others injured in the last 24 hours as the Israeli army continues its onslaught on besieged Gaza, the territory's Health Ministry has said.
“The Israeli occupation committed 18 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 174 martyrs and 310 injured during the past 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the statement said.
With the latest Palestinian casualties, the death toll from Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza since October 7 has risen to 26,257, with 64,797 others injured, the ministry said.
10:23 GMT - PLO urges donors to reverse UNRWA aid cut decision, citing risks
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) secretary-general has said that the decision by some countries to cease support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) entails great political and relief risks.
"We call on countries that announced the cessation of their support for UNRWA to immediately reverse their decision," Hussein al Sheikh, secretary general of the PLO said on X.
Separately, Palestinian resistance group Hamas has slammed Israeli "threats" against the relief organisation.
"We ask the UN and the international organisations to not cave into the threats and blackmail" from Israel, Hamas's press office said in a post on Telegram.
Both statements came after Israel accused several UNRWA staff of involvement in Hamas's October 7 attack.
09:36 GMT - Italy suspends financing for UNRWA: Foreign Minister Tajani
Italy has decided to suspend financing of the UNRWA, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said.
"The Italian government has suspended financing of the UNRWA after the atrocious attack on Israel on October 7," Tajani posted on social media platform X, adding that some of Italy's allies had already taken the same decision.
09:30 GMT - Israel says will seek to stop UN agency's activities in Gaza after war
Israel will seek to stop the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in Gaza after the war, its foreign minister has said.
The foreign ministry aims to ensure "that UNRWA will not be a part of the day after," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X, formerly Twitter, adding that he would try to gather support from the US, EU and other major donors to the agency.
09:23 GMT - India, France concerned at massive killings in Gaza, urge Israel to respect int'l humanitarian law
India and France have expressed concern about the massive loss of civilian lives in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, urging Tel Aviv to respect international humanitarian law and create conditions, including a humanitarian ceasefire, for aid to flow to the enclave.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed these views in a joint statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi on Friday night.
08:45 GMT - Australia, Canada suspend UN agency funding after Israeli allegations
Australia and Canada have suspended their funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, after Israel accused several employees of involvement in Hamas's October 7 attack.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was "deeply concerned" by the allegations against the agency, UNRWA.
"We are speaking with partners and will temporarily pause disbursement of recent funding," she wrote on social media platform X.
Canada's International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen on Friday announced that Ottawa had "temporarily paused any additional funding to UNRWA while it undertakes a thorough investigation into these allegations".
"Canada is taking these reports extremely seriously and is engaging closely with UNRWA and other donors on this issue," he wrote on X.
08:03 GMT - Palestinian death toll soars in West Bank amid Israeli raids
Israeli soldiers killed a young man in his 20s with indiscriminate fire during an overnight incursion into a village in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian media has reported.
The official news agency Wafa said that “a twenty-seven-year-old Palestinian was killed overnight after being shot by Israeli forces’ live fire during confrontations in the village of Deir Abu Deif, northeast of Jenin.”
Israeli forces stormed the village and sealed off its entrances, provoking residents and sparking confrontations, the agency said.
During the confrontations, Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition at residents, seriously injuring Qassam Ahmad Yasin, who died from his injuries shortly after, the news agency said.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 373 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 7.
06:30 GMT - Hamas said to be back in parts of Gaza vacated by Israel
Two Israeli senior security officials have said that the military informed political leadership that Palestinian resistance group Hamas has started to restore its capabilities and governance in certain areas across Gaza, according to media reports.
Public broadcaster KAN said the two officials, whose names were not mentioned, said Hamas started to restore its presence in areas where the army decreased its presence.
According to the information provided by the army to the political leadership, the municipalities that were under Hamas governance have recently started to provide services to the residents in the central and northern areas.
05:45 GMT - Security Council to meet after UN top court's Gaza ruling
The UN Security Council will meet next week over the decision by the global body's top court calling for Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, the council's presidency announced.
The Wednesday meeting was called for by Algeria, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would give "binding effect to the pronouncement of the International Court of Justice on the provisional measures imposed on the Israeli occupation."
05:00 GMT - Michigan's Arab American leaders shun Biden campaign, ahead of president's visit
A group of Arab American leaders in Dearborn, Michigan has skipped a meeting with President Joe Biden's campaign manager that was organised ahead of a possible visit to the battleground state by Biden on February 1, two participants and two sources said.
Biden's likely visit to the state next week involves meetings with members of the United Auto Workers Union and potential meetings with the Arab American community, the participants and sources said.
Ahmad Chebbani, co-founder and chair of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce, told Reuters news agency that a majority of the 15 Arab community leaders invited to the meeting with Julie Chavez Rodriguez had decided to skip it, citing frustration and anger with Biden because he has not called for a ceasefire in Israel's brutal war on Gaza.
For our live updates from Friday, January 26, click here.
