KEY POINTS
- Senior Hamas official says killing of 3 American servicemen a warning to Washington
- 'Significant gaps' remain in talks toward a possible ceasefire-hostage deal
- Hezbollah chief tells US to leave Middle East
As tensions in the Middle East continue to reach distressing highs due to disruptions caused by Iranian-backed militias, the Israel-Hamas war rages on and is now in its 115th day.
Three more countries have joined the United States, the United Kingdom and several other nations that first suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) over allegations that some of its personnel were involved in terror activities.
- Trump reacts to killing of 3 US soldiers in Jordan, blames Biden
- UNRWA employee accused of direct participation in Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre
- Iran's foreign minister in Pakistan after tit-for-tat strikes
- Iran executes 4 accused of affiliation with Israel's Mossad
- Houthis claim they attacked US Navy frigate Lewis B. Puller
- 2 slightly injured after launches from Lebanon toward Israeli military base: Local media
- Republican senators press Biden to take military action after 3 US servicemen killed
- Austria suspends UNRWA funding
- US denies Navy ship attacked after Houthis' claim: Report
- Israel approves UN delegation's visit to northern Gaza: Report
- 2 Israeli hostages being held in UNRWA teacher's home: Israel
- Iraq condemns attack in Jordan, calls for end to 'cycle of violence'
- Romania freezes funding for UNRWA pending investigation
- Houthis turn hijacked Galaxy Leader into 'tourist attraction'
The military wing of Fatah, another major Palestinian faction, announced the assassination of a field commander in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
U.S. President Joe Biden vowed that there will be a response to the killing of three U.S. servicemen in a drone attack on American forces in Jordan.
In the tension-packed Red Sea, Yemeni Houthi rebels attacked another commercial vessel, this time causing a "major fire" as the ship was carrying Naphtha.
Israel's northern border with Lebanon remains a major point of concern in the international community due to continuing fire exchanges between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, another pro-Iran paramilitary group that, like the Houthis, said attacks targeting Israel were a show of solidarity with Hamas.
In Gaza, the IDF continues to focus its ground and air operations in Khan Yunis, the enclave's second-largest city and a Hamas stronghold that was found to have massive tunnel networks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre of more than 1,200 people in Israel will be avenged. He also promised to bring home the remaining hostages taken from Israel amid an outcry among the loved ones of abductees and their supporters.
The war in Gaza, which has already apparently flared up fraught relations between Middle Eastern nations, stems from the violent history of the Israel-Palestine conflict that has dragged both Israeli and Palestinian civilians into chaos.
EU to consider future UNRWA funding after 'very serious allegations'
The European Commission "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," the commission said in a statement Monday.
Also, the commission noted that "no addition funding to UNRWA is foreseen until the end of February."
The EU's statement comes as more countries join the U.S. and UK in halting funding for the agency pending investigation of allegations regarding some UNRWA employees having been involved in the atrocities that started the war in Gaza.
