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Palestinians inspect their destroyed homes Thursday after a strike on the al-Farouq Mosque in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza. (Loay Ayyoub for The Washington Post)

Middle East conflict live updates UNRWA head says agency has hit ‘breaking point’ after funding freezes

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The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian affairs said his organization had “reached breaking point” after 16 donor countries froze funding worth $450 million in the wake of Israel’s accusations that some UNRWA staff had participated in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. The U.S. intelligence community has found no reason to doubt Israel’s claims but lacks independent information on the subject and is not in a position to verify the allegations with a high degree of confidence, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

Key updates
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In Rafah, entire buildings were leveled and homes destroyed Thursday after Gazans reported a bombardment. Al-Farouk Mosque was reduced to rubble. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest strikes on the mosque and surrounding buildings.
The White House’s Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to discuss efforts to secure the release of all hostages,” according to a senior Biden administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
At least 29,410 people have been killed in Gaza and 69,465 injured since the war began, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 237 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.
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In Rafah, entire buildings were leveled and homes destroyed Thursday after Gazans reported a bombardment. Al-Farouk Mosque was reduced to rubble. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest strikes on the mosque and surrounding buildings.
The White House’s Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to discuss efforts to secure the release of all hostages,” according to a senior Biden administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
At least 29,410 people have been killed in Gaza and 69,465 injured since the war began, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 237 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.
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Israel-Gaza war

Israel-Gaza war: The head of the World Health Organization warned that Gaza has become a “death zone,” noting that severe malnutrition has surged dramatically since the war began and that interruptions to aid deliveries are having a devastating impact.

Middle East conflict: Tensions in the region continue to rise. As Israeli troops aim to take control of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing, officials in Cairo warn that the move would undermine the 1979 peace treaty. Meanwhile, there’s a diplomatic scramble to avert full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon.

U.S. involvement: U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria killed dozens of Iranian-linked militants, according to Iraqi officials. The strikes were the first round of retaliatory action by the Biden administration for an attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members.