Summary
We’re closing our live coverage of the latest news from the Middle East for the day. In case you missed anything, here’s a quick round-up of all today’s developments.
Israel has vowed to go ahead with its ban on the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA, which has been told to vacate its headquarters in East Jerusalem by Thursday
The head of the body, Philippe Lazzarini, told the UN Security Council that the ban was “jeopardizing any prospect for peace and security” and “harming the lives and future of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory”.
Numerous US allies – including Jordan, Qatar, and France – have rejected Donald Trump’s proposal that people in Gaza should be moved into Jordan or Egypt
The Jordanian air force has begun delivering 20 tonnes of food and medical supplies to Gaza, a government spokesperson said
The death toll from the conflict in Gaza provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health - which currently stands at 47,354 - is probably an underestimate, a spokesperson for the World Health Organisation has said.
The mayor of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Ahmed al-Soufi, has urged residents not to return to parts yet because it remains “extremely dangerous”, despite the start of the withdrawal of Israeli troops
Israeli forces have detained at least 25 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, including former prisoners, according to a statement by the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees
Israel has said it is “continuing defensive operations” in southern Lebanon following the extension of a deadline – originally last Sunday – for the withdrawal of its forces from the area
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, will travel to Damascus next week to meet Syria’s new government, according to reports. The trip would mark the first visit by a Russian official since the fall of the Assad regime
Thanks for joining us. You can find all our latest coverage of the Middle East here.
Updated
The US supports Israel’s move to ban the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA, and sever all contact, a US envoy to the UN told a Security Council meeting on Tuesday.
UNRWA has been told to vacate its headquarters in East Jerusalem by Thursday following bills passed by the Israeli parliament in October banning its operations in Israel and the Palestinian territories and designating it a terror organisation.
“The United States supports the implementation of this decision,” said Dorothy Shea, a United States representative to the UN who suggested UNRWA officials were “exaggerating the effects of the laws.”
Israel has claimed that around a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the 7 October attacks and that some of the hostages taken by Hamas were kept in UNRWA facilities in Gaza, which include schools, clinics, and depots.
Shea called for “a full and independent investigation to assess these very serious allegations”.
“Unfortunately, this follows a pattern of serious allegations on the misuse of UN facilities - particularly UNRWA facilities - by Hamas terrorists,” she said.
Several probes, including one last year led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, identified “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA, but stressed that Israel had not provided evidence for its central claims.
