UN defends Palestinian aid agency, and US has 1st military deaths in region since war in Gaza began

The United Nations secretary-general on Sunday called on the United States and others to resume funding the main agency providing aid in Gaza after Israel accused a dozen employees of taking part in the Hamas attack that ignited the war and stoked deadly instability across the Middle East.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced the first deaths of U.S. service members in the region since the war in Gaza began, and blamed Iran-backed militias for the drone strike in Jordan near the Syrian border that wounded “many” others. Meanwhile, U.S. officials said negotiators were closing in on a cease-fire agreement that would bring a two-month halt to the deadliest-ever Israeli-Palestinian violence.

The war has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, destroyed vast swaths of Gaza and displaced nearly 85% of the territory’s people. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants took about 250 hostages.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA would be forced to scale back aid to more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza as soon as February. The besieged territory is in the grip of a severe humanitarian crisis, with a quarter of the population facing starvation as fighting and Israeli restrictions hinder the delivery of aid.

“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences,” Guterres said in a statement. “But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met."

He said that of the 12 employees accused, nine were immediately terminated, one was confirmed dead and two were still being identified. He said they would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

A GAZA LIFELINE AT RISK OF ‘COLLAPSE’

UNRWA provides basic services, from medical care to education, for Palestinian families who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding the country's creation. They live in built-up refugee camps in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The refugees and their descendants number about 6 million, and in Gaza they are the majority of the population. UNRWA, which has some 13,000 staff members in Gaza, expanded its operations during the war and runs shelters that house hundreds of thousands of newly displaced people.

More than 2 million of the territory’s 2.3 million people now depend on the agency's programs for “sheer survival,” including food and shelter, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. It's a lifeline that could “collapse any time now," he said after funding was suspended.

The United States, which is the agency's largest donor, immediately cut funding over the weekend, followed by eight other countries, including Britain and Germany. Together, the countries provided nearly 60% of UNRWA's budget in 2022.

PROGRESS IN CEASE-FIRE TALKS

Two senior Biden administration officials said U.S. negotiators were making progress on a potential agreement under which Israel would pause military operations against Hamas for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 remaining hostages.

The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing negotiations, said that emerging terms of the deal would play out over two phases, with the remaining women, elderly and wounded hostages to be released in a first 30-day phase. The emerging deal also calls for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

CIA Director Bill Burns was expected to discuss the contours of the emerging agreement during meetings Sunday in France with David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in comments to troops on Sunday said that “these days we are conducting a negotiation process for the release of hostages” but vowed that as long as hostages remain in Gaza, “we will intensify the (military) pressure and continue our efforts — it’s already happening now.”

More than 100 hostages, mainly women and children, were released in November in exchange for a weeklong cease-fire and the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Despite the apparent progress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Saturday that the war would continue until “complete victory" over Hamas.

Netanyahu's popularity has plummeted since Oct. 7 and he has faced protests demanding new elections, with many Israelis blaming him for the unprecedented security failures that day as well as the plight of the hostages. Dozens of hostages' relatives have started protesting outside his private residence in Caesarea.

ISRAEL UNDER SCRUTINY AFTER RULING

The International Court of Justice ruled Friday that Israel must do its utmost to limit death and destruction in its Gaza offensive and facilitate more humanitarian aid. The binding ruling stopped short of ordering a cease-fire, but was in part a rebuke of Israel's conduct in the war.

The case brought by South Africa to the U.N. court alleged Israel is committing genocide, which Israel vehemently denies. A final ruling is expected to take years.

The amount of aid entering Gaza remains well below the daily average of 500 trucks before the war.

In the past week, family members of the hostages and their supporters have blocked aid trucks from entering Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing, contributing to the backlog. On Sunday, dozens of protesters again blocked the entry, chanting “No aid will cross until the last hostages return.”

The military later declared the area around the crossing a closed military zone, which would prohibit protests there.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, saying the militants embed themselves in the local population. Israel says its air and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 9,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The offensive caused vast destruction in northern Gaza, where Israel says it has largely dismantled Hamas. The fighting is now focused on the southern city of Khan Younis and a cluster of built-up refugee camps in central Gaza.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has increasingly called for restraint and for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza while supporting the offensive.

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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Lidman from Jerusalem. Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war