Israel’s parliament recently approved a highly controversial bill banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency the principal UN aid organization serving the Gaza Strip, an area devastated by years of conflict.
The decision has provoked significant backlash on an international scale. Since its founding over 70 years ago, UNRWA has been instrumental in providing critical services such as education, healthcare, and humanitarian aid to Palestinians within Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and other host countries.
As Israel’s military operations intensify across Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, the region faces escalating violence, leading to widespread suffering among the Palestinian and Lebanese people.
On Tuesday, October 29, live updates across the Middle East underscored the severity of the situation.
11:15 a.m. In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, near the Israeli border, an Israeli airstrike targeted a five-story building where displaced Palestinian families were sheltering.
The strike killed at least 34 people, more than half of whom were women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Emergency services reported an additional 20 wounded.
The victims included two families—one mother with her five children, some of whom were adults, and another mother with her six children.
The Israeli military has not issued a comment on the incident, but it follows over three weeks of a large-scale operation in northern Gaza.
10:20 a.m. The Israeli military reported that a drone targeting the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon was allegedly launched from Yemen. Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, have reportedly initiated a drone and missile campaign in support of Hamas.
The military confirmed in a statement that the UAV, which fell in an open area in Ashkelon, was launched from Yemen.
9:30 a.m. Meanwhile, in Syria, an Israeli strike near the Lebanon border reportedly killed two individuals. The attack, the second within a week in that region, occurred near Al-Nazariya village in the Al-Qaseer countryside, a known route for smuggling between Lebanon and Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli warplanes attacked vehicles along this route.
The strike comes just days after an Israeli attack on the Jousieh crossing, another essential passage for those fleeing Lebanon’s conflict to seek refuge in Syria. As a result of Israel’s intensified airstrikes on Lebanon, nearly half a million people have crossed into Syria.
9:10 a.m. At a United Nations Security Council meeting requested by Iran, tensions flared as Israel and Iran accused one another of destabilizing the Middle East. “Israeli aggression against Iran is obvious and does not occur in isolation,” said Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, condemning Israel’s military actions in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
In response, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon defended his country’s actions, citing the missile attacks from Iran on October 1, which he stated would “not go unanswered.” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield expressed support for Israel while warning Iran of “severe consequences” if further aggression is directed at Israel or U.S. personnel.
9:00 a.m. The bill banning UNRWA, despite opposition from the United States and warnings from the UN Security Council, gained widespread support in the Knesset. It not only prohibits the agency from operating in Israel and East Jerusalem but also prevents Israeli officials from collaborating with UNRWA staff. In response, Hamas condemned the bill as “Zionist aggression,” while Islamic Jihad described it as “an escalation in the genocide.” Even some of Israel’s closest Western allies voiced disapproval.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed that Britain was “gravely concerned,” while Germany warned that such a law could “effectively make UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem impossible… jeopardising vital humanitarian aid for millions of people.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a stern warning, stating that the new law could have “devastating consequences” and impede UNRWA’s ability to continue its essential support. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini underscored the law’s implications, cautioning that it “sets a dangerous precedent.”
