Israeli strike kills over 100 in Gaza amid ire as UNRWA banned

A single Israeli strike on a residential block on Tuesday killed over 100 Palestinians in north Gaza’s Beit Lahia, causing significant damage in the area.

Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 143 Palestinians since dawn, with medical sources saying 132 of those were killed in the north of the Strip, where Israel has imposed an over three-week long siege.

Many Palestinians remain trapped under the rubble, as there are no longer any ambulances, emergency services or functioning hospitals left in the north due to incessant Israeli bombardment.

The US expressed “concern” over the alarmingly high death toll in Gaza’s Beit Lahia following the intense Israeli bombing. 

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller called it a “horrific incident with a horrific result”. 

The US also called on Israel to explain the strike, with Washington stating they “made clear we want to know exactly what happened, how you could have a result that produces, according to reports, dozens of children dead, and we don’t yet know the answer to that question,” Miller said.

“It is critically important… that Israel be mindful of achieving a larger strategic success, and that (Israel) be mindful of finding a way to end this campaign in a way that brings the hostages home, in a way that ensures their security, and not just continuing in an endless, perpetual conflict,” he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continued on south Lebanon, with the health ministry stating a strike on Sarafand killed at least eight people.

It also reported six dead in an earlier strike on Haret Saida near the main southern city of Sidon.

 Backlash over UNRWA ban

The bombings come as Israel is facing global outrage from governments and organisations around the world after its parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency working with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The organisation, which has been providing vital aid to Palestinians for over seven decades, will no longer be able to assist Palestinians with schooling, healthcare and humanitarian aid.

Israel has also banned officials from working with any UNRWA staff or representatives.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was “gravely concerned” and the French foreign ministry said it “very strongly regrets” the law.

Germany, a staunch defender of Israel’s security, warned it would “effectively make UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem impossible”.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the Israeli law could have “devastating consequences” if implemented.

Jordan, which also hosts UNRWA offices, condemned the ban as a “continuation of Israel’s frantic efforts to assassinate the UN agency politically”.

The U.N. World Food Programme called for immediate action to avert famine in the Gaza, warning that the humanitarian crisis there could soon worsen amid what it said were severe restrictions on aid flows.

“Now, as the situation in northern Gaza continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of a larger group being impacted by famine will surely increase unless conditions on the ground improve,” said WFP.

Norway also said it will put forward a U.N. General Assembly resolution to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an opinion on Israel’s obligations to facilitate aid to Palestinians that is delivered by international groups, including the United Nations, and states.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, announced it has chosen deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as leader after his death in an Israeli strike on south Beirut last month.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant posted on X that Qassem was a “temporary appointment” who would not last for long. In a separate post in Hebrew, he added that the “countdown has begun”.

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian’s website said Qassem’s appointment would “strengthen the will of the resistance”.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 43,061 Palestinians and wounded 101,223 others since October 2023, levelling entire neighbourhoods and plunging the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis.

Israel has also killed 2,792 people and wounded 12,772 others in Lebanon since October 2023.