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Israel’s decision to ban the main aid agency providing most of the humanitarian relief in Gaza is “extremely worrying”, says the United Nations’ peacekeeping chief.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix told Sky News’ The World With Yalda Hakim that UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) is “absolutely essential” to the delivery of such assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, where access is controlled by Israel.

More than a year into the war which was sparked by Hamas‘s massacre in southern Israel on 7 October last year, the population in Gaza is in a “disastrous situation”, he said.

Latest updates: Israel warns new Hezbollah leader

The Israeli parliament’s decision on Monday to vote to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, citing the alleged role of some local staff in the attack, has raised fears among Israel’s Western allies that this will worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. UNRWA denies allegations of militant ties.

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Israel defends UNRWA ban

The legislation, which will take effect 60 to 90 days after Israel’s foreign ministry notifies the UN, could severely restrict the ability of UNRWA to operate in the Palestinian territories, where it is responsible for more than five million refugees.

Famine fears

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The UN World Food Programme has called for immediate action to avert famine in Gaza, warning that the crisis there could soon worsen amid what it said were severe restrictions on aid flows.

Mr Lacroix, the UN under-secretary-general for peace operations, said up to now there had been a “very strong and very united expression of very serious concern” about the plight of Gaza’s population, and there has to be “continuous pressure” to ensure the Israeli legislation will not be “operationalised”.

Since 7 October 2023, some 43,061 people in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks, which include airstrikes and a ground assault, the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry says.

On Tuesday, an Israeli strike on a five-storey building where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in northern Gaza killed at least 60 people, more than half of them women and children, said the ministry.

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UNRWA ban a ‘terrible thing’

Meanwhile in Lebanon, the country’s health ministry says 2,792 people have been killed since 8 October 2023.

That was the day that Iranian-ally Hezbollah, a militant and political group, started firing rockets into northern Israel in a show of support for Hamas.

Read more:
Hezbollah’s new leader may adopt a more cautious approach
Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA could have devastating impact

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On Tuesday, eight Austrian soldiers serving in the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon were lightly injured in a missile strike at the Naqoura camp, Austrian authorities said.

Mr Lacroix claimed that “in some instances we’ve seen clear indication of deliberate attacks” on peacekeepers in Lebanon.

“But, I wouldn’t say that all, attacks or all incidents have been deliberate. In a number of cases, we still have to investigate.”

He said all attacks against UN peacekeepers are “unacceptable” and it was “critically important” for them to remain.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israeli troops had deliberately targeted UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon as “completely false” and repeated a call for them to be withdrawn from combat zones.

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COP30: Countries reach draft deal to help speed up climate action

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COP30: Countries reach draft deal to help speed up climate action

Countries attending COP30, the biggest climate meeting of the year, have agreed steps to help speed up climate action, according to a draft deal.

The meeting of leaders in the Brazilian city of Belem also saw them agree to reviewing related trade barriers and triple the money given to developing countries to help them withstand extreme weather events, according to the draft.

However, the summit’s president Correa do Lago said “roadmaps” on fossil fuels and forests would be published as there was no consensus on these issues.

The annual United Nations conference brings together world leaders, scientists, campaigners, and negotiators from across the globe, who agree on collective next steps for tackling climate change.

The two-week conference in the Amazon city of Belem was due to end at 6pm local time (9pm UK time) on Friday, but it dragged into overtime.

The standoff was between the EU, which pressed for language on transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the Arab Group of nations, including major oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which opposed it.

The impasse was resolved following all-night negotiations led by Brazil, negotiators said.

More on Cop30

The European Union’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said on Saturday that the proposed accord was acceptable, even though the bloc would have liked more.

“We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction,” he said.

The Brazilian presidency scheduled a closing plenary session.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and about 80 countries, including the UK and coal-rich Colombia, had been pushing for a plan on how to “transition away from fossil fuels”.

This is a pledge all countries agreed to two years ago at COP28 – then did very little about since.

But scores of countries – including major oil and gas producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia – see this push as too prescriptive or a threat to their economies.

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Israel launches strikes on Gaza in further test of fragile ceasefire

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Israel launches strikes on Gaza in further test of fragile ceasefire

Israel says it has begun striking Hamas targets in Gaza, reportedly killing at least nine people, after what it called a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

Local health authorities in Gaza said there had been three separate airstrikes, one hit a car in the densely populated Rimal neighbourhood, killing five people and wounding several others.

Shortly after the attack on the car, the Israeli air force hit two more targets in the central Gaza Strip, medics said.

They said at least four people died when two houses were struck in Deir Al-Balah city and Nuseirat camp.

The Israeli military said there had been a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

It claimed a gunman had crossed into Israeli-held territory after exploiting “the humanitarian road in the area through which humanitarian aid enters southern Gaza”.

A Hamas official rejected the Israeli military’s allegations as baseless, calling them an “excuse to kill”, adding the Palestinian group was committed to the ceasefire agreement.

More on Gaza

The Israeli airstrikes are a further test of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas, which has held since 10 October following the two-year Gaza war.

Israel pulled back its troops, and the flow of aid into the territory has increased. But violence has not completely halted.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 316 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce.

Meanwhile, Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began and it has attacked scores of militants.

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Europe scrambles for counter-proposal to US-Russian plan for Ukraine

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Europe scrambles for counter-proposal to US-Russian plan for Ukraine

The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.

European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.

Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.

Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland

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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20

The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.

One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.

Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.

Read more:
Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
Analysis: We could all pay if Europe doesn’t guarantee Ukraine’s security

Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders' Summit. Pic: Reuters
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters

“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.

“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.

Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.

“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.

“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.

“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.

Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.

There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.

But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.

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