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Israel Officially Informs UN of End to Relations With Palestinian Relief Agency Over Hamas Ties
Security personnel work at the UNRWA headquarters, in Jerusalem, May 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Israel has officially notified the United Nations that it was canceling the agreement that regulated its relations with the main UN relief organization for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) since 1967, the country’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
Last month, the Israeli parliament passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and stopping Israeli authorities from cooperating with the organization, which provides aid and education services to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel has long been critical of UNRWA, accusing it of anti-Israel bias and saying it perpetuates the conflict by maintaining Palestinians in a permanent refugee status. Palestinian refugees are unique in that they pass their status to descendants, regardless of their age and country of residency, a practice Israel claims fuels demands for a “right of return.” The return of over 5 million Palestinians to Israel would destroy the Jewish state by demographic means, critics argue.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October last year, Israel has also said that UNRWA has been deeply infiltrated by Hamas in Gaza, accusing some of its staff of taking part in the Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. The Israeli government and research organizations have publicized findings showing numerous UNRWA-employed teachers were directly involved in the attack, while many others openly celebrated it.
The legislation has alarmed the United Nations and some of Israel‘s Western allies who fear it will further worsen the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting Hamas terrorists for a year. The ban does not refer to operations in the Palestinian territories or elsewhere.
Experts have noted that textbooks supplied by UNRWA promote antisemitism and hatred of Israel.
Israel‘s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement that despite the overwhelming evidence “we submitted to the UN highlighting how Hamas infiltrated UNRWA, the UN did nothing to address this reality.”
The legislation does not directly outlaw UNRWA’s operations in the West Bank and Gaza, but it will impact its ability to work in those areas.
The Israeli foreign ministry said activity by other international organizations would be expanded and “preparations will be made to end the connection with UNRWA and to boost alternatives to UNRWA.”
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
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