Alert to rocket fire in Tel Aviv and central Israel, the EU calls for an audit of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), international reactions to accusations against UNRWA, the Hamas Ministry of Health announces a new assessment...
Le Figaro
takes stock of the conflict in the Middle East this Monday, January 29.
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Rocket fire alert in Tel Aviv and central Israel
Warning sirens sounded Monday in Tel Aviv and central Israel to warn residents to take shelter after rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, a journalist from the AFP.
These shots, claimed by the armed wing of Hamas, come after several weeks of calm in this region of the country, while the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip will soon enter its fifth month.
The EU calls for an audit of UNRWA
Deadly fighting is raging in the Gaza Strip where the UN agency for aid to the Palestinians (UNRWA) is at the heart of a controversy, with the European Union calling for an audit on Monday after accusations of possible participation of some of its members to the Hamas attack against Israel.
Fears of an extension of the conflict resurfaced after the death of three American soldiers killed in Jordan in a drone attack, blamed by Washington on groups supported by Iran.
This is the first time that American soldiers have been killed in the Middle East since the start of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
The attack comes as the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which provides vital aid to Palestinians in Gaza, is in turmoil over the alleged involvement of twelve of its employees in the bloody Hamas attack on October 7.
The European Union asked Unrwa on Monday
to “accept that an audit be carried out by independent experts, chosen by the European Commission
,” said its spokesperson Éric Mamer.
The UN agency opened an investigation on Friday after accusations from Israel but several key contributors suspended their funding, despite the UN secretary-general's call to ensure the continuation of its essential operations for the population.
Israel, for its part, announced that it would prohibit UNRWA from continuing to work in Gaza after the war.
Spain will maintain its relations with UNRWA
Spain will maintain its relations with UNRWA, despite accusations concerning the alleged involvement of some of its employees in the October 7 attacks in Israel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.
We will not change our relationship with UNRWA
, which is
“an essential United Nations agency to alleviate the humanitarian situation
,” declared Minister José Manuel Albares before the Congress of Deputies.
Spain will
nevertheless
“follow
closely the internal investigation”
announced by the agency
“and the results it could produce”
, continued the head of Spanish diplomacy.
Saudi Arabia calls on donors to continue funding UNRWA
Saudi Arabia, for its part, called on donors on Monday to continue funding the UN agency:
“The kingdom urges all donors to the agency to assume their role in supporting humanitarian missions for Palestinian refugees inside the the Gaza Strip under siege
,” said the Saudi Foreign Ministry in a statement, relayed by the official SPA news agency.
UNRWA must
“continue to fulfill its functions to ensure the basic needs of the Palestinians and mitigate the effects of the humanitarian crisis
,” said Ryad.
The United States was the first on Friday to announce the temporary cessation of all future financial contributions, followed by Canada, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany , Japan, Austria and Romania.
In its statement, Saudi Arabia underlines
“the importance of strengthening the procedures for examining and investigating these allegations, in order to establish facts supported by evidence”
.
Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel, but had initiated talks before the war with the United States, its main ally, on a possible normalization of relations.
Since October 7, it has made the resumption of discussions conditional on a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement on an
“irrevocable”
path towards the creation of a Palestinian state.
According to a UN statement released in 2022, the Gulf monarchy is
“one of the largest donors to UNRWA”
, with a contribution of almost a billion dollars over the last decade.
She announced additional aid of two million dollars a little over a week after the Hamas attack.
Deadly fighting in Gaza, five dead in the West Bank
On Monday, the Hamas health ministry said at least 140 people were killed in nighttime strikes across the Gaza Strip, including in Khan Yunis in the south and Gaza City in the north. .
According to the Israeli army, its soldiers killed
“dozens of armed terrorists during fighting in central Gaza
,” where large quantities of weapons were found.
In Khan Younes, considered a stronghold of the Islamist movement,
“very violent”
fighting is raging, according to witnesses.
On Sunday, fighting took place around the Nasser and al-Amal hospitals, the two main hospitals in the city, which are only partially functioning and shelter thousands of refugees.
More than 1.3 million Gazans displaced by the conflict, according to the UN, are massed in Rafah, in the far south of the territory, stuck against the closed border with Egypt.
According to Gaza civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal, hundreds of tents housing displaced people were flooded by the heavy rains that fell in the territory overnight, worsening their already very precarious living conditions.
In the occupied West Bank, five Palestinians were killed Monday by Israeli fire and many others were injured during several Israeli operations, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
New report: Hamas Ministry of Health announces 26,637 deaths
The Hamas Ministry of Health announced Monday a death toll of 26,637 people, the majority women, children and adolescents, in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
During the last 24 hours, 215 people were killed, says Hamas, which also reports 65,387 people injured since the start of the conflict on October 7.
Explosive regional context
In an explosive regional context, three American soldiers were killed and 34 injured in a drone attack in northeastern Jordan, near the border with Syria and Iraq, Washington announced on Sunday, designating pro groups -Iran as responsible and threatening
“very significant”
reprisals
.
These Iraqi factions are part of what Iran presents as
the “axis of resistance”
against Israel which includes Hamas, Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah and groups in Syria.
Tehran refuted any involvement in the attack which Iraq condemned on Monday, calling for
“stopping the spiral of violence”
in the Middle East.
In Syria, seven people, including pro-Iranian fighters, were killed in an Israeli strike in southern Damascus, according to a local NGO.