Region

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories — Gazans lamented on Monday the suspension of funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees by several donor countries after Israel charged that some UNRWA staff took part in Hamas's October 7 sudden attack.

The agency has fired several staff over Israel's accusations and promised a thorough investigation into these claims, which were not specified.

Several countries, including the United States, France, Britain, Germany and Japan, have announced the suspension of further funding to the agency.

In the southern city of Rafah, where 1.5 million displaced people have taken refuge, Gazans told AFP that the support they received from the agency amounted to a lifeline.

"We live on aid from UNRWA. If it stopped, we would die of hunger, and no one would look at us," said Sabah Musabih, 50.

Amal Abdel Moneim, a refugee from Gaza City in the north, said there were no other organisations offering help.

"Our people are supported by no one except UNRWA," he said.

"If UNRWA stops supporting us, our people will be lost and dead."

Israel's relentless military offensive has killed at least 26,637 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas government's health ministry in the territory.

Israel has vowed to stop the agency's work in Gaza after the war.

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said Monday he had cancelled a meeting with UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini scheduled for later in the week.

"Lazzarini should draw conclusions and resign," Katz posted on X, formerly Twitter.

An UNRWA source told AFP that the suspension of funding announced by several countries had yet to have an effect on the ground.

“There is no change in the aid distribution mechanisms implemented by UNRWA in the Gaza Strip,” the source said on condition of anonymity as he was not supposed to talk about the sensitive issue.

“The situation is very dangerous, and if the United States and the supporting countries insist on stopping their support for UNRWA, this will be a major disaster,” the source said.

While Washington has announced it had stopped funding the agency, it was still weighing options for the future.

UNRWA has “literally helped save thousands of lives” in Gaza, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN on Monday.

“So while this is very serious, and it needs to be taken that way, I think we also need to remember not to impugn the good work of the entire agency.”

The EU on Monday demanded an “urgent” audit of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and said it is reviewing funding.

The audit must be led by European Commission-appointed experts and conducted alongside a UN investigation into the claims, commission spokesman Eric Mamer told journalists.

“What is absolutely clear is that these actions are urgent. They are important and they should be launched without any delay,” Mamer said.

The European Union is one of UNRWA’s top donors.

A commission statement said the EU executive “will determine upcoming funding decisions for UNRWA in light of the very serious allegations made on 24 January relating to the involvement of UNRWA staff in the heinous 7 October attacks”.

It said that no additional funding to UNRWA “is foreseen until the end of February”.

But it added that humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank “will continue unabated through partner organisations”.

ISTANBUL — One man died after armed assailants opened fire in an Italian church in Istanbul during Sunday mass in an apparent assassination attempt that was swiftly condemned by Pope Francis.

The attack occurred at around 11:40 (08:40 GMT) at the Santa Maria Church in the Sariyer district of Istanbul on the European side and was carried out by two masked men, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media.

Turkish officials said it looked like a targeted attack against one person rather than against the Catholic church.

The minister said an individual identified only as C.T., who was among those attending Sunday's service, was the target of the gun attack and lost his life.

An investigation had been launched to find the attackers, Yerlikaya added, who fled the scene after the shooting.

Local officials said around 40 people attended the mass.

Television images showed police and an ambulance outside the ornate 19th century church.

“We strongly condemn this vile attack,” Yerlikaya said.

Security footage ahead of the attack showed a pair of men wearing black snow masks with their hands in their pockets and one was seen wearing black sunglasses.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in the central Anatolian province of Eskisehir for his party’s rally ahead of March local elections, expressed condolences during a phone call with the priest of the Italian church and other local officials.

He assured that “necessary steps are being taken to catch the perpatrators as soon as possible”, according to his office.

Pope Francis expressed his support for the Catholic church after the attack.

“I express my closeness to the community of the Santa Maria” church in Istanbul, the Argentinian Pope said at the end of his weekly Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

 ‘Firm condemnation’

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also expressed his “condolences and firm condemnation” over the attack, and backed the Turkish authorities to find the killers.

The incident comes more than a week after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Erdogan in Istanbul.

Turkey’s ruling AKP party spokesman Omer Celik said the attackers took aim at a citizen during the mass.

“Our security forces are conducting a large-scale investigation into the matter,” he said.

“Those who threaten the peace and security of our citizens will never achieve their goals.”

Istanbul governor Davut Gul told reporters at the scene that there were no injuries.

The motive for the attack was also not immediately clear.

In December last year, Turkish security forces detained 32 suspects over alleged links with so-called Daesh terror group extremists who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues, as well as the Iraqi embassy.

Daesh extremists have carried out a string of attacks on Turkish soil, including against a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017 that left 39 people dead.

SANAA — US forces struck an anti-ship missile in Houthi-held Yemen that they said was ready to fire Saturday, hours after the Iran-backed rebels caused a fire on a British tanker in the Gulf of Aden with a similar munition.

US and British forces have launched joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis' ability to target vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route, attacks the rebels say are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with Hamas.

Washington has also carried out a series of unilateral air raids, but the Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks.

The US military's Central Command, CENTCOM, said it had carried out another strike early Saturday on a Houthi "anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea and which was prepared to launch.

"Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defence," it said on social media platform X.

The Houthis' Al-Masirah television said the United States and Britain had launched two air strikes on the port of Ras Issa in Yemen's Hodeida province, which hosts the country's main oil export terminal.

There was no immediate confirmation from Washington or London, and the Houthis did not provide details on the attack or the extent of the damage.

The previous evening, the Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Saree said missiles fired by the rebels had hit the Marlin Luanda, an oil tanker operated by a British firm on behalf of trading giant Trafigura Group.

"The strike was direct, and resulted [in] the burning of the vessel," Saree said.

Tanker ablaze 

CENTCOM later confirmed the hit, saying it had started a "major fire".

Other vessels had come to the ship's assistance, including the USS Carney, the French Navy Frigate FS Alsace and Indian Navy Frigate INS Visakhapatnam.

“Thanks to this rapid response by the US, Indian and French navies, the fire is now extinguished,” it said in an update on Saturday.

“There were no casualties in the attack, the ship remains seaworthy and has returned to its previous course,” it added, confirming an earlier statement from Trafigura.

In its statement, the company said that “no further vessels operating on behalf of Trafigura are currently transiting the Gulf of Aden”.

The Indian Navy said the Marlin Luanda has 22 Indians and one Bangladeshi onboard.

It said a fire-fighting team of 10 Indian naval personnel battled the blaze for six hours along with the ship’s crew before bringing it under control.

On Friday the Houthis also fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen towards the Carney in the Gulf of Aden, CENTCOM said.

“The missile was successfully shot down by USS Carney. There were no injuries or damage reported,” it added.

Meanwhile, British Defence Minister Grant Shapps on Sunday said the UK remained “undaunted” after Houthi rebels attempted to attack a navy ship in the Red Sea.

“Yesterday [Saturday] HMS Diamond successfully repelled a drone attack from the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea,” Shapps said on X, formerly Twitter, calling the ongoing attacks “intolerable and illegal”.

“Deploying her Sea Viper missile system, Diamond destroyed a drone targeting her,” he said.

There were no injuries or damage sustained to Diamond or her crew.

Global trade disruption 

The Houthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

They have since declared US and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps on Saturday said his government remains “as committed as ever” to protecting freedom of navigation following the latest “intolerable and illegal” attack by Houthi rebels.

“It is our duty to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and we remain as committed to that cause as ever,” he said.

The United States is leading a coalition to protect Red Sea shipping, an effort the Pentagon has likened to a highway patrol for the waterway.

Washington is also seeking to put diplomatic and financial pressure on the Houthis, redesignating them a “terrorist” organisation last week after previously dropping that label soon after President Joe Biden took office.

The attacks by the rebels, who are part of an anti-Israel, anti-West alliance of Iranian proxies and allies, have disrupted trade in the Red Sea, which carries around 12 per cent of international maritime traffic.

Several shipping firms are avoiding the waterway, instead taking the longer and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

This new pressure follows difficult years for the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, when freight rates reached unprecedented levels due to disruptions to supply chains.

Separately on Saturday, the Houthis released an 18-minute video showing fighters in military fatigues conducting military drills against hypothetical US and Israeli targets.

The video, published by one of the rebels’ military propaganda arms, showed fighters using rocket-propelled grenades to strike buildings, Humvees, and tanks adorned with US and Israeli flags.

TEHRAN — Iran on Sunday said it simultaneously launched three satellites into orbit, nearly a week after the launch of a research satellite by the Revolutionary Guard drew Western criticism.

“Three Iranian satellites have been successfully launched into orbit for the first time,” state TV reported.

The satellites were carried by the two-stage Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite carrier and were launched into a minimum orbit of 450 kilometres, it added.

The Mahda satellite, which weighs around 32 kilogrammes and was developed by Iran’s Space Agency, is designed to test advanced satellite subsystems, the official IRNA news agency said.

The other two, Kayhan 2 and Hatef, weigh under 10 kilogrammes each and are aimed to test space-based positioning technology and narrowband communication, IRNA added.

Last week, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent the research satellite Soraya into space.

Britain, France, and Germany condemned that launch in a statement rejected by Iran as “interventionist”.

Western governments including the United States have repeatedly warned Iran against such launches, saying the same technology can be used for ballistic missiles, including ones designed to deliver a nuclear warhead.

Iran has countered that it is not seeking nuclear weapons and that its satellite and rocket launches are for civil or defence purposes only.

The Islamic republic has struggled with several satellite launch failures in the past.

The successful launch of its first military satellite into orbit, Nour-1, in April 2020 drew a sharp rebuke from the United States.

Tehran has been under crippling US sanctions since Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal which granted Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear activities designed to prevent it from developing an atomic warhead.

Iran has always denied any ambition to develop nuclear weapons capability, insisting that its activities are entirely peaceful.

TEHRAN — Gunmen in south-eastern Iran killed nine people on Saturday, Iranian media reported, with Islamabad's ambassador identifying them as Pakistanis, as the neighbouring countries have sought to ease tensions after deadly cross-border fire.

Iran's Mehr news agency reported that "according to witnesses, this morning unknown armed men killed nine non-Iranians in a house in the Sirkan neighbourhood of Saravan city" in Sistan-Baluchistan province.

So far, no group had claimed responsibility, the news agency added.

The province's deputy governor, Alireza Marhamati, told official news agency IRNA that according to survivors of the incident, "three armed people shot at the foreigners after entering their residence and fled the scene".

Marhamati confirmed the toll of nine deaths and said three others were wounded.

The Pakistani ambassador to Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, said on X, formerly Twitter, he was "deeply shocked by horrifying killing of 9 Pakistanis in Saravan".

"Embassy will extend full support to bereaved families... We called upon Iran to extend full cooperation in the matter."

Pakistani foreign ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch condemned the attack as "horrifying and despicable" and asked Iranian authorities to "investigate the incident and hold to account those involved in this heinous crime".

She stressed that the Pakistani embassy in Iran “will do its best to repatriate dead bodies at the earliest”, adding that “such cowardly attacks cannot deter Pakistan from its determination to fight terrorism”.

The deadly attack follows rare military action in the porous border region of Baluchistan — split between the two nations — that had stoked regional tensions already inflamed by the Hamas-Israel war.

Sistan-Baluchistan, one of the few mainly Sunni Muslim provinces in Shiite-dominated Iran, has seen persistent unrest involving cross-border drug-smuggling gangs and rebels from the Baluchi ethnic minority.

On January 18, Pakistan launched air strikes on “militant targets” in Iran, two days after Iran had launched strikes on its territory.

Tehran said it had targeted Jaish Al Adl, a group which has carried out a spate of deadly attacks in Iran in recent months and blacklisted by Iran as a “terrorist” organisation.

The Iranian strikes, which Pakistan said killed at least two children, drew a sharp rebuke from Islamabad, which recalled its ambassador from Tehran and blocked Iran’s envoy from returning to Islamabad.

Tehran also summoned Islamabad’s charge d’affaires over Pakistan’s strikes, which left at least nine people dead.

The two countries, however, announced last Monday that they had decided to de-escalate and resumed diplomatic missions with the two ambassadors returning to their posts.

The Pakistani ambassador on Saturday presented his credentials to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, the presidency website reported.

“Borders are an opportunity for economic exchanges and improving the security of neighbours, and it is necessary to protect this opportunity against any element of insecurity,” Raisi said during the meeting with the Pakistani envoy.

The Iranian president called the two countries “brothers” and described their relations as “unbreakable”.

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories — Intense fighting raged on Saturday in the Gaza city of Khan Yunis, the main theatre of conflict where the Israeli forces is targeting the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas.

The unabated hostilities came a day after the UN's International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled Israel must prevent possible acts of genocide in the conflict but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.

Tensions rose between Israel and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees after Israel alleged several UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas attack of October 7, leading some key donor countries to suspend funding.

Foreign minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Israel wants to ensure the UN agency, with tens of thousands of staff in the territory, "will not be a part of the day after" the bloodiest ever Gaza war.

Alarm has grown over the plight of civilians in Khan Yunis, the southern hometown of Hamas's Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, the suspected mastermind of the October 7 attack.

AFPTV images showed thousands of civilians, among them women and children, fleeing the city on foot as an Israeli tank loomed behind them.

"They besieged us, so we fled," said Tahani Al Najjar, who left Khan Yunis with her daughter. "We call on the UN to intervene, to stop the war. Enough of fear and terror!"

Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the displaced endured incessant cold rain and warned of the “spread of contagious diseases”.

The health ministry in Gaza said at least 135 people were killed in Khan Yunis overnight.

The Hamas government said “massive tank bombardment” targeted a refugee camp in the city and its Nasser hospital.

Patients trapped 

With Gaza’s humanitarian crisis growing, the UN says most of the estimated 1.7 million Palestinians displaced by the war are crowded into Rafah on the southern border with Egypt.

At Khan Yunis’s Nasser Hospital, the largest in the besieged city, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said surgical capacity was “virtually non-existent”.

The charity said the hospital’s services had “collapsed” and the few staff who remained “must contend with very low supplies that are insufficient to handle mass casualty events”.

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 350 patients and 5,000 displaced people remained at the hospital as fighting continued nearby.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli tanks targeted the Al Amal hospital, another of the city’s few remaining medical facilities, and that it was “under siege with heavy gunfire”.

“There is no longer a healthcare system in Gaza,” MSF said.

There were 300 to 500 patients trapped at the Nasser hospital with “war-related injuries such as open wounds, lacerations from explosions, fractures and burns”.

The Israeli military accuses Hamas of operating from tunnels under Gaza hospitals and of using the medical facilities as command centres.

UN sacks staff 

Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, accused the WHO this week of collusion with Hamas by ignoring Israeli evidence of Hamas’s “military use” of Gaza hospitals.

Tedros rejected the accusation, saying it could “endanger our staff who are risking their lives to serve the vulnerable”.

Relations between Israel and UNRWA soured further after the UN body said tanks had shelled one of its shelters in Khan Yunis on Wednesday, killing 13 people.

UNRWA said on Friday it had sacked several employees accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attack.

The allegations have prompted the United States, Canada, Australia and Italy to suspend funding to the agency.

Israel said it would seek to stop UNRWA from operating in Gaza after the war. Hamas urged the international community to ignore Israel’s “threats”, while the Palestinian Authority said the agency needed “maximum support” from donors.

Diplomatic efforts have sought scaled-up aid deliveries for Gaza and a truce, after a week-long cessation of hostilities in November saw Hamas release dozens of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

CIA chief William Burns is to meet with his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts, as well as Qatar’s prime minister, in the coming days in Paris to seek a ceasefire, a security source told AFP.