Moscow warns US missile authorization may mark new level of involvement in conflict for Washington
Maxim shipenkov/Pool/Afp via getty images
(LONDON) — Russia would consider the White House’s authorization for Ukraine to use U.S.-made longer-range weapons within Russia to be a “qualitatively new round of tensions” between Moscow and Washington, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Monday.
“Allowing Kyiv to strike deep inside Russia with U.S. long-range missiles, if such permission has actually been given, will mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and level of Washington’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said at his daily briefing.
President Joe Biden authorized the use of the weapons, ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, within the Russian Kursk region, two U.S. officials told ABC News on Sunday. The missiles have a range of about 190 miles.
Ukraine had not as of Monday morning used the weapons against Russian forces within Russia, a senior defense official said.
Officials in Kyiv, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had been calling for months for authorization to use such weapons within Russia. Kyiv has previously used the ATACMS to strike Russian bases within occupied Ukraine.
But the Biden administration had held back, even as Zelenskyy requested the authorization as he traveled to the White House for an official visit in September.
Peskov on Monday painted the change in policy as an “obvious” signal that the Biden administration in its final months intends to “continue to add fuel to the fire.”
He added that Moscow viewed the move as a way for the White House to “continue to provoke further escalation of tension around this conflict.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Shannon K. Kingston and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.
The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the devastated Palestinian territory.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.
Israeli West Bank settlers riot, attack Palestinians and security forces
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday said security forces personnel faced “violent” scenes while evacuating an illegal Israeli settler outpost in the Palestinian West Bank town of Huwara, close to the city of Nablus.
Dozens of settlers rioted, setting fire to Palestinian buildings, vehicles and attacking Palestinian residents after Israeli security forces moved in to conduct the evacuation.
The IDF said several Israelis were arrested.
“The IDF views with great seriousness any violence against its servants and the security forces, who commit nights and days to the security of the citizens of the region,” its statement read. “These events must be condemned and the violators of the law brought to justice.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
UN chief says Gaza aid ‘outrageously’ blocked
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post to X on Tuesday that much-needed humanitarian aid for Gaza is being “outrageously blocked.”
Guterres said aid agencies are facing “gigantic humanitarian needs” in Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces continue military operations — particularly in the north of the devastated territory.
UN officials have repeatedly demanded that Israel do more to facilitate aid flows into Gaza.
“The nightmare is not a crisis of logistics,” Guterres said. “It’s a crisis of political will and of respect for fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israeli forces conduct strike in Syria
The Israel Defense Forces said it conducted a strike in Damascus on Tuesday, to target Salman Nemer Jamaa, Hezbollah’s representative to the Syrian military.
“The Syrian regime has actively supported Hezbollah, enabling weapon smuggling to Lebanon and by that endangering Syrian and Lebanese civilians. Jamaa was a key Hezbollah figure supporting these operations,” the IDF said in a statement.
This Israeli strike is separate from active ongoing fighting between Syrian rebel forces and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Diseases spreading in Gaza as winter bites
Doctors Without Borders on Tuesday reported a significant spread of respiratory diseases, pneumonia, skin diseases and diseases resulting from immunodeficiency among citizens in Gaza.
The organization’s medical director, Fadi Al-Madhoun, warned of acute respiratory infection among children in the Gaza Strip due to the winter weather and their presence in tents that do not protect against the winter cold.
Last month, MSF described conditions in Gaza as “appalling” and said its teams treated more than 10,000 children under the age of 5 for upper respiratory tract infections like tonsillitis and the common cold.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti
Airstrike targets car near Damascus airport
Syria’s SANA news agency reported an Israeli airstrike targeting a car on a main road close to Damascus airport on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties from the strike, or who the target was.
The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the report.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
IDF claims killing of Oct. 7 militants
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it killed seven militants it accused of participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, infiltration attack into southern Israel.
The IDF said in a statement that troops of the 99th Division’s 990th Brigade killed the fighters during operations in central Gaza over the past two weeks.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Trump’s Israel ambassador pick demands ‘severe’ response to hostage death
Mike Huckabee, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the next American ambassador to Israel, said the U.S. must “exact severe consequences” after the Israel Defense Forces announced the death of missing American-Israeli soldier Omer Neutra.
Neutra, 21, was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel and his body was taken back into Gaza, the IDF said Monday. He was previously thought to have been abducted alive.
Huckabee wrote on X, “There must be serious consequences for holding any hostage but America needs to exact severe consequences for kidnapping and murdering AMERICAN hostages.”
Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East” if remaining hostages are not released from Gaza by the time he takes office on Jan. 20.
There are believed to be three surviving Americans still being held hostage in Gaza.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
9 killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, health ministry says
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that Israeli airstrikes in the south of the country killed nine people on Monday, as last week’s fragile ceasefire continues despite renewed cross-border fire.
The ministry said in posts to X that an Israeli attack on the town of Haris killed five people and injured two. A strike on the town of Talousa killed four and injured one, the ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it was striking targets in southern Lebanon and accused Hezbollah of “severe violation of the ceasefire.”
IDF says it’s hitting targets in Lebanon
The IDF said it is striking targets in southern Lebanon on Monday after Hezbollah officials said earlier they fired on an Israeli target.
“We will respond decisively to Hezbollah’s severe violation of the ceasefire —and will continue to do so. We have plans and targets ready to be carried out and at any given moment,” the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, said Monday.
Hezbollah says it fired on Israeli target in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah officials said Monday they fired on an Israeli target in southern Lebanon, accusing Israel of “repeated violations” of the ceasefire agreement.
The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah launched two projectiles toward the area of Har Dov. There were no injuries, with the projectiles falling in open space, the IDF said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened a forceful response, calling it a “serious violation of the ceasefire.”
“We are determined to continue enforcing the ceasefire, and to respond to any violation by Hezbollah — minor or serious,” Netanyahu said.
Family of dead Israeli-American soldier release statement
The family of Omer Maxim Neutra, the Israeli-American soldier who had been believed to be in Hamas captivity, released a statement Monday after it was confirmed he was killed Oct. 7.
“Our hearts are shattered with this devastating news,” the family said. “The Neutra family is deeply grieving and are requesting the public, who has shown great support throughout this journey, to please respect their privacy until they are formally ready to announce the next steps.”
“May Omer’s memory be a blessing,” they added.
Netanyahu vows to recover body of US-Israeli soldier from Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, said in a joint statement Monday they “will not rest or be silent” until the body of killed U.S.-Israeli soldier Omer Neutra is recovered from the Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Monday that Neutra, 21, was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel and his body taken back into Gaza. Neutra — who was originally from New York — was previously thought to have been taken hostage. He was serving as a tank platoon commander at the time of the attack.
Neutra “fought fiercely at the head of his soldiers to defend the settlements surrounding Gaza, until he fell.” Netanyahu’s statement said. “We share in the family’s heavy grief,” it added.
“We will continue to act resolutely and tirelessly until we return all of our captives — the living and the dead,” the statement said.
There are still three American citizens thought to be alive as hostages inside Gaza.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israeli drone strike injures Lebanon soldier, army says
The Lebanese Armed Forces said on Monday that an Israeli drone “targeted an army bulldozer while it was carrying out fortification work” at a military center in the northeastern Hermel region close to the border with Syria.
The attack “resulted in one soldier being moderately injured,” the army wrote in a post to X.
The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the alleged strike.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
IDF confirms death of US-Israeli hostage
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday confirmed that missing U.S.-Israeli soldier Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, was among those killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.
Neutra was believed taken into Gaza as a hostage by militants during the attack. But the IDF said Monday he was killed during the Oct. 7 assault and his body was taken by militants.
Neutra — originally from New York — was serving as a tank platoon commander in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade at the time of the Hamas attack. He was among hundreds of security forces personnel killed during the assault.
Neutra’s parents have been campaigning for a hostage release deal in the U.S., their activity including public appearances at the White House and the Capitol.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF reports ‘several operations’ against Hezbollah in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it launched “several operations” targeting Hezbollah fighters that it claimed posed a direct threat to Israel “in violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Among the operations was an attack on armed militants operating close to a church in southern Lebanon, the IDF said.
Those killed “were active in the ground defense, anti-tank and artillery formations in the sector, and took part in the fighting while using the church,” it wrote in a post to X.
The 60-day ceasefire that went into effect last week is holding despite continued sporadic fighting and Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
The deal stipulates that IDF troops will withdraw from their positions in Lebanon during the 60-day window and that Hezbollah forces will withdraw from the region south of the Litani River.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hostage Edan Alexander’s father makes an appeal to Biden, Trump and Netanyahu
The father of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander issued an emotional request on Sunday to President Biden, President-elect Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling the leaders to act now to bring the hostages home “before it’s too late.”
A day after seeing his son for the first time in a year in a propaganda video released by Hamas’ military wing, Adi Alexander of New Jersey spoke at a rally in New York City’s Central Park, saying, “No father should hear his child plead for his life like that.”
“President Biden, President Trump, Prime Minster Netanyahu, I call on all of you to act,” Alexander said. “This is not a moment for politics or hesitation. This is a moment of courage, collaboration and decisive action.”
He appealed to Biden to use the United States’ influence “to negotiate a deal before it’s too late.”
Directing his words to Trump, he said, “You do not have to wait until January to make an impact. The world is watching. Act now.”
To Netanyahu, Alexander said, “The fate of the hostages, including my son, rests in your hands. You have the power to bring them home. Don’t let this opportunity slip away.”
Edan Alexander, 20, was serving in the Israeli military and stationed near Gaza when he was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023.
The White House issued a statement, saying, it has been in touch with the Alexander family and called the hostage video a “cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own.”
“The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately– and would have ended months ago– if Hamas agreed to release the hostages,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement. “It has refused to do so, but as the President said last week, we have a critical opportunity to conclude the deal to release the hostages, stop the war, and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza. This deal is on the table now.”
Netanyahu to hold meeting to discuss hostages, Lebanon, Syria tonight: Official
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting Sunday night to discuss the issue of the hostages, as well as Lebanon and Syria, an Israeli official told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
UN pauses aid deliveries to Gaza amid safety concerns
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini on Sunday announced a pause to Gaza aid deliveries via the strip’s main crossing point, citing serious threats to the safety of staff.
The road out of the Kerem Shalom crossing “has not been safe for months,” Lazzarini said in a post to X.
“This difficult decision comes at a time hunger is rapidly deepening,” Lazzarini said. “The delivery of humanitarian aid must never be dangerous or turn into an ordeal.”
The UNRWA chief said a “large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs” on Nov. 16, with several more aid trucks taken on Saturday.
Lazzarini also said that Israel’s “ongoing siege” of Gaza, “hurdles” put in place by Israeli authorities and “political decisions to restrict the amounts of aid” were among the other problems facing U.N. staff.
“The humanitarian operation has become unnecessarily impossible,” he wrote. “The responsibility of protection of aid workers [and] supplies is with the state of Israel as the occupying power.”
(DAMASCUS, SYRIA) — Rebel forces in Syria captured the capital Damascus and toppled the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.
Putin to grant Assad asylum in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin will grant political asylum to toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
“Of course, such decisions cannot be made without the head of state,” Peskov said, as quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax. “This is his decision,”
“We have nothing to tell you about Mr. Assad’s whereabouts right now,” Peskov said, adding there was no official meeting between Putin and Assad planned.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israel bombed Syrian chemical weapons sites, foreign minister says
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters on Monday that Israeli forces “attacked strategic weapons arrays, residual chemical weapons capabilities, missiles and long-range rockets” inside Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of “extremist elements.”
Israeli forces have been striking inside Syria and occupying positions on Syrian territory in recent days, as rebel forces — some with roots in jihadist organizations — surged into major Syrian cities and precipitated the collapse of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus.
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday it had taken up positions in the demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria established by a bilateral 1974 agreement.
Saar said the presence of “armed men” in the zone and their alleged attacks on United Nations positions there prompted the Israeli decision to cross the border.
Saar said Israeli deployments into the buffer zone are “targeted and temporary” and intended to prevent an “Oct. 7 scenario from Syria,” referring to last year’s devastating Hamas infiltration attack into southern Israel.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Dana Savir
Israeli forces cross into buffer zone separating occupied Golan Heights from Syria
Israel Defense Forces tanks and armored vehicles have entered the buffer zone that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria on Sunday night.
The move puts IDF troops in operations on four fronts in the Middle East, Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
The advancement into Syria comes after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to Islamist rebels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision was made to “protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned positions,” according to AP.
The IDF has reportedly warned Syrian residents in five southern communities to stay home for their safety.
Israeli forces on Sunday also took over the Syrian side of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, according to AP.
Iranian foreign minister says he fears ‘renewed civil war’ in Syria
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi commented on the fall of Syria’s government during an interview on Iranian state TV on Sunday.
He said Syria’s ousted president, Bashar al-Assad, was “surprised” and “complained about the way his own army was performing.”
Araghchi also said Iran was fully aware of the situation in Syria through “the intelligence and security system of our country.”
Iran is monitoring the developments in Syria and is concerned about the “possibility of a renewed civil war or a sectarian war between different sects or the division of Syria and the collapse of Syria and its transformation into a haven for terrorists,” Araghchi said.
-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi and Ellie Kaufman
US strikes 75 ISIS targets in Syria
The United States launched dozens of against ISIS targets in central Syria on Sunday in an attempt to “disrupt, degrade and defeat” the terrorist group, according to the head of the U.S. Central Command.
CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement that 75 ISIS targets were hit in precision airstrikes Sunday in Syria. He said the mission was carried out by U.S. Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s and A-10s.
“There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria. All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way,” Kurilla said.
Kurilla said the strikes hit known ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria.
During a speech at the White House on Sunday, President Joe Biden mentioned the U.S. strikes on ISIS targets in Syria. He said U.S. forces are also bolstering security at detention facilities in Syria where ISIS fighters are being held.
“We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its capability and to create a safe haven,” Biden said. “We will not let that happen.”
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Netanyahu fires Defense Minister Gallant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and is replacing him with current Minister of Foreign Affairs Yisrael Katz.
The prime minister and defense minister must have “complete trust” during war, and “over the past few months this trust has been cracked between me and the Minister of Defense,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Netanyahu said he tried to bridge the gaps, but “they kept widening.”
“They also came to the attention of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse, they came to the attention of the enemy – our enemies were pleased with this and benefited greatly from it,” he said.
Netanyahu said Katz “has already proven his abilities and his contribution to national security as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Minister of Finance, as Minister of Intelligence for five years, and no less important than that, as a member of the political-security cabinet for many years.”
“He is known as a bulldozer in a combination of responsibility and firmness, quiet firmness,” Netanyahu said.
Families of hostages are critical of Netanyahu’s decision, saying it’s “unfortunate proof of the Israeli government’s poor prioritization.”
“The dismissal of Defense Minister Gallant is a direct continuation of the ‘efforts’ to torpedo the hostage deal,” the families said in a statement. “We demand that the incoming Defense Minister express an explicit commitment to ending the war and implementing a comprehensive deal to return all the hostages immediately.”
Gallant said in a brief statement, “The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Famine risk looming in north Gaza, health officials warn
Acute food insecurity is a concern across Gaza, but the issue is especially pressing in the northern part of the strip where the Israeli military’s ongoing assault has intensified in recent weeks.
Dr. Abu Safiyeh — who works at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya — said the besieged facility is running out of all food, collecting video footage of the deteriorating situation there.
Safiyeh’s warning followed a statement last week from the United Nations’ food assistance arm warning that “the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon escalate into a famine unless immediate action is taken.”
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Joe Simonetti
Gaza situation ‘has not significantly turned around,’ US says
The State Department said Monday that Israel has not done enough to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.
The U.S. set out its conditions in a letter sent to Israeli officials last month and signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The letter gave Israel until Nov. 12 to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian territory.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
“We have seen an increase in some measurements,” Miller continued. “We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met.”
Miller did not say what steps the U.S. would take if the situation did not improve before the deadline. “I don’t want to forecast in any way what it is that we’ll do at the end of those 30 days,” he said.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Joe Simonetti
Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
Around 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to Palestinian health officials.
At least 20 people — including eight women and six children — were killed by an airstrike on a home sheltering several displaced families in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
The town is at the heart of Israel’s most recent offensive in the northern part of the strip, which officials at the Hamas-run Health Ministry say has killed around 1,800 people and injured another 4,000.
Separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed at least 10 people, health officials said.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti
Death toll in Lebanon crosses 3,000: Health ministry
More than 3,000 have been killed since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began over a year ago, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Sixteen people were killed in Lebanon on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 3,002, it said.
60 rockets fired into Israel, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said that at least 60 rockets were fired into Israel by Hezbollah on Monday.
Some of the rockets were intercepted and others fell “in open areas,” the IDF wrote on X.
The IDF also said it attacked one Hezbollah launcher suspected of firing up to 30 rockets, posting what it said was a video of the strike to its X page.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israeli strikes kill 31 in Gaza, health officials say
Palestinian medics said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people in Gaza on Sunday.
Almost half of the deaths occurred in northern areas, health officials said, where Israel Defense Forces troops are pressing an intense campaign intended to root out surviving Hamas fighters and stop its units from regrouping.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that around 1,800 people have been killed and 4,000 injured by Israel’s north Gaza campaign, with “widespread destruction of hospitals and infrastructure.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Guy Davies
IDF says 4 drones intercepted in north and east
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Monday that military aircraft intercepted four drones.
Some of the unmanned aircraft were intercepted after crossing into Israel from Lebanon, while the others were shot down before entering the east of the country from the direction of Syria and Iraq, the IDF said.
IDF claims killing of Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it killed Hezbollah’s commander of the Baraachit area of southern Lebanon in an airstrike.
The IDF said Abu Ali Rida was responsible for rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli forces and commanded Hezbollah units in the Nabatieh area.
Israel notifies UN of plans to terminate cooperation with UNRWA
The Israeli government notified the United Nations of its plans to terminate cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly on Sunday.
UNRWA is the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza and is responsible for coordinating and supplying humanitarian aid. It also operates in the West Bank. The Israeli government has accused UNRWA of having ties to Hamas. After the initial accusations, the U.N. conducted an internal investigation, and some UNRWA staff members were fired.
Israel maintains that UNRWA still has ties to Hamas. But aid organizations warn if the agency stops operating in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there will only worsen.
Israel’s termination of UNRWA in the country follows legislation passed by Israel’s parliament at the end of October severing the country’s ties with the organization.
Israel’s governmental body passed two bills — one banning UNRWA from operating in Israel, including in east Jerusalem, and another prohibiting any Israeli state or government agency from working with UNRWA or anyone on its behalf.
The legislation has a three-month waiting period before it goes into effect. It is set to go into effect at the end of January.
Israeli Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jacob Blitshtein wrote in the letter released Sunday that Israel will “continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Northern Gaza hospital says Israeli artillery fire injured children
The Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza said Israeli artillery fire hit a floor of the hospital, injuring children who were being treated there.
The hospital also said there was heavy bombing overnight on the block where it is located, threatening the nearby Al Yemen al Saeed Hospital.
The hospital director said in a statement on Sunday the glass of the doors and windows of the facility were shattered by the force of the blasts.
