UN tells Israel it will pause aid work in Gaza without better safety

Senior UN officials have told Israel they will suspend aid operations across Gaza unless urgent steps are taken to better protect humanitarian workers from Israeli strikes and to curb growing lawlessness hindering aid efforts, two UN officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations with Israeli officials.

The Israeli army declined to comment on Tuesday on the UN ultimatum, and the Defense Ministry did not return requests for comment. Israel has acknowledged some military strikes on humanitarian workers, including an April attack that killed seven workers with the World Central Kitchen, and denied allegations of others. Israel says any such strikes are mistakes.

International criticism is growing over Israel’s campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip as Palestinians face severe and widespread hunger. The eight-month war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and basic goods to Gaza, and people there are now totally dependent on aid. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a "plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza - a charge Israel strongly denies.

Earlier Tuesday, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

The conscription decision comes as Israel and Hamas appear to moving farther apart on a cease-fire deal, and Israeli leaders are increasingly signaling that a war with the Lebanese group Hezbollah could be next.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which the Palestinian group stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.

Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,600 people in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

Associated Press