Intense fighting in south Gaza sends residents fleeing as Israel vows to shut out UN agency

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Intense fighting in south Gaza sends residents fleeing as Israel vows to shut out UN agency



Criticism of UNThe ICJ decision was based on an urgent application brought by South Africa, long a supporter of the Palestinian cause, but a broader judgement on whether genocide has been committed could take years.”This is the first time the world has told Israel that it is out of line,” said Maha Yasin, a 42-year-old displaced Gaza woman.The UN Security Council will meet on Wednesday to give “binding effect” to the ICJ decision, said the foreign ministry of Algeria, which called the meeting.Israel has repeatedly criticised the UN during the war.Relations between Israel and UNRWA, which have been strained for years, had already soured further after the UN body condemned the shelling of one of its shelters in Khan Yunis on Wednesday, killing 13 people.After UNRWA announced the sacking of several employees on Friday, its number one financial contributor, the United States, said it was suspending funding. Other donors followed, including Britain, Finland, Canada, Australia, and Italy.Hamas urged the international community to ignore Israel’s “threats” to stop UNRWA operating in Gaza, while the Palestinian Authority said the agency needed “maximum support” from donors.The Hamas government said “massive tank bombardment” targeted a refugee camp in Khan Yunis and Nasser hospital, the city’s largest.Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group said surgical capacity was “virtually nonexistent” at the facility.Another Khan Yunis hospital, Al-Amal, was “under siege with heavy gunfire,” the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.It added later that Israeli forces shot and killed a man at the hospital’s emergency entrance.The Israeli military accuses Hamas of operating from tunnels under Gaza hospitals and of using the medical facilities as command centres, a charge Hamas denies.



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