the decision to cut funding to — unrwa? the decision to cut funding to unrwa _ unrwa?a is - unrwa? the decision to cut i funding to unrwa is shameful. these are serious allegations ijy these are serious allegations by the un responded to it exactly the way one would respond to serious allegations. they immediately opened an investigation, they terminated the contracts of these employers, even before the investigation. in fact, countries around the world have praised unrwa's response to this attack. to cut funding— unrwa serve more than 5 million palestinian. there are more than 1.7 million displaced palestinians at unrwa shelter. their lives hang in the balance and unrwa is providing critical support. that governments have cut funding is akin to collective punishment— punishing not only institution thatis punishing not only institution that is 13,000 employees in gaza, but the hundreds of thousands, the millions that depend on unrwa for theirfood, education, for basic humanitarian aid. there is no justification for that decision.— justification for that decision. ., .,

but on this question of unrwa perpetuating the conflict, that i think is a nod to the fact that unrwand the world, unhcr, the other un agency that deals with refugees — they, too, always register the children of refugees and that's something that is refugee practice throughout the world. so israel always says unrwa is unique in registering the children of refugees and are perpetuaitng the conflict. that is simply not true. unhcr also registers the children of refugees. what actually perpetuates this crisis, the conflict in the middle east is the failure of the parties to resolve it. that is israel and the palestinians. that is what perpetuates the crisis — not the work of an agency humanitarian succour in times of war and alleged genocide that we now seeing. just seeing on the via reuters news agency that is well�*s foreign ministry is also now are urging more countries to post the link at the agency and saying they want. —— saying they want the agency replaced in more countries to cut ties. let's get more now on the uk joining other countries in halting funding for unrwa. 0ur politic

but israel and their foreign minister calling unrwa - unrwa tonight.reign minister calling unrwa the | foreign minister calling unrwa the civilian arm of hamas that it shouldn't operate in gaza once the war ends, they believe that as you can understand why they want action taken? , , ., .,, can understand why they want action taken? , , . ., ., taken? yes, israel has waged a olitical taken? yes, israel has waged a political war— taken? yes, israel has waged a political war against _ taken? yes, israel has waged a political war against unrwa . taken? yes, israel has waged a j political war against unrwa for many, many years. underthe political war against unrwa for many, many years. under the false assumption, allegation that in some way, unrwa perpetuates the refugee problem because unrwa registers the children of refugees as refugees, just as unhcr, the other un agency dealing with refugees, also registers children of refugees under the principle of family unity. israel is mistaken in thinking unrwa perpetuates the refugee problem. what perpetuates th

—— chief executive of unrwa. i have to say that is very sad because the donors have said repeatedly when i was at unrwa and since that unrwa's workers life—saving. it is said that unrwa contributes to its development and humanitarian work to the stability of the middle east so it is very sad to be seeing those same donors withdrawing their funds to these life—saving and regionally stabilising services and to say before i finish this answer it may before i finish this answer it may be that with 15,000 staff, there are some bad apples among unrwa staff. they are working on an extremely complex and polarised environment. but you know, let us not lose sight of the fact that even though there may be some bad apples there are thousands and thousands of workers in unrwa who are committed absolutely and robustly to their humanitarian mandate. that absolutely and robustly to their humanitarian mandate. that may be the case, humanitarian mandate. that may be the case. chris. _ humanitarian mandate. that may be the case, ch

the story here is not unrwa.ause palestinians were kicked out of their homes orfled in 19118. you have 70% of gazan population that are refugee. unrwa could be disbanded the day that refugees have the rights to return to their homes that they were expelled or fled from in 19118. then unrwa does not need to exist but as long as the palestinians refugees needed, in part responsible for the entire situation, has a duty to ensure they have school, that they have... cross talk we're running out of time. you are right to really differentiate between unrwa and innocent palestinian civilians. my question to you is, can you understand why unrwa's credibility might be shot now that this is being investigated? unrwa is one of the only a few sources we have about what is going on in gaza. israel has been questioning that information for months. what, what credibility does unrwa have now moving forward? it has to be in the context of a years—long campaign against unrwa. under the trump administration there were campaigns to s

that's a big business for unrwa. unrwa and hamas are intertwined. it's important to understand that. we have an abundance of evidence, over a dozen unrwa employees who took part, participated in the atrocities of october 7th. the beheading of children. the burning of babies alive. we need to understand this. an in-depth investigation needs to take place and people should start resigning from unrwa, frankly. >> you want to see unrwa abolished. you want to see it cease operations. what is the alternative? >> there are international humanitarian organizations that are not tainted with terrorism. that do care for humanitarian aid. and they need to step up to the plate. there are organizations that have stepped up to the plate. but unrwa perpetuate the problem. they are intertwined with hamas. over a dozen of their employees have took part in the atrocities of october 7th and taken four months. it's taken four months for their leadership to take out these employees and to fire them. so, i think we should wake up. it's the tip of the iceberg, it's being e

what do they want unrwa to do?sacked these people suspected of these appalling crimes and it makes no sense to punish those in gaza who desperately need the assistance of unrwa tonight. but israel and their foreign minister calling unrwa the civilian arm of hamas, saying it should not operate in gaza once the war ends, they believe that, so you can understand why they want action taken? yes, israel has waged a political war against unrwa for many, many years under the false assumption, allegation that in some way, unrwa perpetuates the refugee problem because unrwa registers the children of refugees as refugees, just as unhcr, the other un agency dealing with refugees, also registers children of refugees under the principle of family unity. israel is mistaken in thinking that unrwa perpetuates the refugee problem. what perpetuates the refugee problem is the failure of the parties, including israel, to see the rights of those refugees resolved, the problems around the refugees resolved, in the context of a two—state

unrwa does deny that. can i read other statements by unrwa?i said anyone involved will be held accountable. it reiterates its combination of the important facts. he went on to demand the release of hostages. do you believe those statements? i don't believe the statements. you think he's lying? no, i think he's disingenuous. i didn't take the moment of having his funding cut off. for him to say they will investigate allegations for years and years and has unrwa and its operations. unrwa has never shown any support for the attacks of october the 7th. not publicly yet. tuesday of this week, there will be a hearing in congress, where the un watch is being called as a witness to testify under oath that 3,000 named employees of unrwa all names, all with their employee id numbers, all laid out, have been sharing the efforts of hamas, cheering and publicly supporting the october the 7th massacre. unrwa denies all of these accusations, and written letters and to the state department saying they have safeguards to protect against some of the things that

and since that unrwa's work is life—saving. contributes through its human development and humanitarian work to the stability of the middle east. so it's very sad to be seeing those same donors withdrawing their funds to these life—saving and regionally stabilising services. and to say, before i finish this answer, it may be that with 15,000 staff, there are some bad apples among unrwa staff. they're working in an extremely complex and polarised environment. but, you know, let us not lose sight of the fact that even though there may be some bad apples, there are thousands and thousands of workers in unrwa who are committed absolutely and robustly to their humanitarian mandate. that may be the case, chris, but these are very serious accusations. accusations that these members of staff were involved in the 7th of october attacks. it is. it is very serious indeed and unrwa is taking this very seriously. can i say that when i was the unrwa spokesperson, particularly in the 2014 war, israel and israeli spokespeople, both civilian and

unrwa is investigating the claims. but israel is continues to put pressure on the un agency, saying its boss should resign. our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen, reports. crushed from the air. lives, homes, families and now the very mission set up to help gaza's desperate is taking a hit too. the un agency for palestinian refugees, or unrwa, firing several employees for alleged involvement in hamas' assault on israel. a body set up to protect, accused of attack. britain and a handful of other countries have now paused theirfunding. the foreign office said it was appalled by claims of complicity in what it called "a heinous act of terrorism." hamas stormed israel on the 7th of october, killing more than 1,200 people and abducting at least 240. israeli intelligence has reportedly passed on material said to show the participation of unrwa staff and the use of its vehicles and facilities. its government has seized on the allegations as the world remembers another massacre. translation: it was proven on international h

unrwa does deny that. can i read other statements by unrwa? | read other statements by unrwa?volved will be examined, —— accountable. he went on to demand the release of hostages. you believe those statements? i the release of hostages. you believe those statements?— those statements? i don't believe the statements. _ those statements? i don't believe the statements. when _ those statements? i don't believe the statements. when i _ those statements? i don't believe the statements. when i do - those statements? i don't believe the statements. when i do think. those statements? i don't believe i the statements. when i do think he's lying? no, ithink the statements. when i do think he's lying? no, i think he's doing well my disingenuous. i didn't take the moment of having his funding cut off —— | moment of having his funding cut off —— i think he's taken —— i think he did it, i presented. for him to say they will investigate allegations for years and years and has unrwa and its operations. fine for years and years and has unrwa and its operations.— and its operations. one has neve

meanwhile, unrwa the unrwa condemned the freezing of funds.aid "palestinians and gaza did not need the additional collective punishment. this." stains all of us." and until has urged donor nations to continue supporting unrwa. for more would go to oslo, no way, where we're joined by jan egeland, secretary general of the norwegian refugee council. norway has decided to continue its funding. can you start off by responding to the cutting off of funding at a time when, among other things, gaza is under bombardment and is on the edge of famine? >> it is the worst possible reaction to these allegations that some -- maybe a dozen, of the 13,000 unrwa aid workers -- participate in the horrific attacks on israel. that, however, was immediately with responsive unrwa by firing these staff and now having an independent investigation. what the donor state, the u.s., u.k., germany, italy, finland, netherlands, australia, and some others did was to cut all aid to the children of gaza, to the women in gaza, to the completely innocent there. it is the worst p

must protect the mandate of unrwa. what we're seeing feels like a coordinated political attack on the one organization mandated to serve the people of gaza. so unrwa needs to step up to the plate. the u.n. needs to step up to the plate and do everything it can to defend its mandate. let me be clear. israel, it seems, is laboring under the misapprehension that by getting rid of unrwa, it will get rid of the refugees that unrwa serves. these are human beings with rights. both individual and collective rights. and you cannot just have here today, gone tomorrow politicians be there in israel or western capitols deciding that by getting rid of the agency, cutting off or suspending funding to the agency that serves them that this problem will go away. what will make the problem go away is adjust and durable solution for the palestine refugees and only that. even if unrwa, the agency mandated to serve them would disappear, the refugees would be human beings. and that is a truth that needs to be the ground rock, the bedrock of

., ., using unrwa.u said israel — using unrwa. you made the point that you said israel had _ using unrwa. you made the point that you said israel had long _ using unrwa. you made the point that you said israel had long been _ you said israel had long been gunning for unrwa, as a former ambassador, israel has contended that some of its staff —— of the unrwa staff collaborated with her mass. did you ever see evidence of that? i mass. did you ever see evidence of that? . ., , that? i never saw evidence of it but i heard that? i never saw evidence of it but i heard ezra — that? i never saw evidence of it but i heard ezra was _ that? i never saw evidence of it but i heard ezra was accusing _ that? i never saw evidence of it but i heard ezra was accusing some - that? i never saw evidence of it but| i heard ezra was accusing some stop of those sorts of acts of proselytising pro—hamas literature in schools and things like that but i never saw any evidence of it myself. i never saw any evidence of it m self. ,,

over 500,000 children go to unrwa schools every day. could it possibly be in the interest of regional stability to have funding cut? the post office says its chairman, henry staunton, was asked to stand down after talks with the business secretary, kemi badenoch. she says there was a "need for new leadership". he was appointed in december 2022. with me is political correspondent iain watson. the post office says he was asked to stand down but the government which said the two had reached a mutual agreement. some may say he had been sacked? indeed, they have been very careful with language but it is the government said they agreed to part their ways with mutual consent. that may be mutual consent by the end of that conversation. the post office are telling me he was asked to stand down and therefore the person who instigated that call was undoubtedly the secretary of state and kolisi wanted him to go. it is rare, i think, for someone who is chairman to be called up on a saturday afternoon and persuaded to go, but clearly this was the sec

some of unrwa's own trucks have been stuck in the north.ed not only more goods, more food, more medical supplies. we are estimating a quarter of the diapers needed for kids, and mind you there are 50,000 pregnant women in gaza right now, 180 giving birth a day. we just don't have enough supplies to help this population in the way that any human being on earth deserves. host: the executive director of unrwa usa national committee, thank you very much for joining us on bbc news. guest: thank you. host: we put those claims she made about israeli strikes on you and installations and what she described -- on u.n. installations to the former israeli torah minister -- tourism minister in new york. here is how he responded to the u.n. agency's accusations. >> i think after so many days of war, it would have been fair if we were to disregard what unrwa says as exact realities, because we have found their infrastructure hidden inside unrwa centers. we have revealed this to the world. they have brought in gas which was stolen by hamas a day after. the

. , ., ., ., comes to suspending funding to unrwa. ., ., ., unrwa.ng coalition of countries. the _ unrwa. yes, a growing coalition of countries. the us _ unrwa. yes, a growing coalition of countries. the us state _ unrwa. yes, a growing coalition ofi countries. the us state department said it was extremely troubled by the allegations and they see the israeli... italy and canada also journey in those countries suspending funding to unrwa. inside gaza, israel is pressing ahead with its military operation with tanks advancing into khan younis, in southern gaza, where thousands of people have been forced to flee. gaza's health ministry says 174 palestinians have been killed in israeli strikes in the past 2a hours. that takes the total reported killed in gaza since the war started to at least 26,257 — most of the dead are women and children. the head of the cia is expected to meet officials from israel, egypt and qatar in the coming days, in an attempt to negotiate the release of hostages held by hamas, which many western governments consider a terrorist

let's get some background and history on this agency, unrwa.n as unrwa was established in 19119 by the united nations general assembly. its mandate is to help palestinians displaced by the 19118 palestinian war and subsequent conflicts. unwra operates in five key areas: jordan, lebanon, syria, the gaza strip, and the west bank — including eastjerusalem. it currently employs over 30,000 people, most of them palestinian refugees, and a small number of international staff. by 2019, more than 5.6 million palestinians were registered with unrwa as refugees. unrwa's mandate is subject to periodic renewal every three years — and it has consistently been extended since its founding, most recently until 30th june 2026. our middle east correspondent mark lowen outlined the latest fallout from israel's allegations against members of unrwa staff, working in gaza. looking at those allegations, the un says that it concerns 12 members of staff. nine of them have been immediately dismissed. two are currently being identified and one, says the un secretary—gene

yes, the head of unrwa has said life-saving _ in gaza?ife-saving assistance _ in gaza? yes, the head of unrwa has said life-saving assistance in - in gaza? yes, the head of unrwa has said life-saving assistance in which . said life—saving assistance in which 2 million people rely is about to end. he has said that that constitutes additional collective punishment for the palestinian people. it is a huge blow at the moment to an agency which operates in a territory where few others can, really. unrwa, beyond its educational role, it runs schools and medicalfacilities in time of peace. at the moment, it distributes aid and runs the shelters where 80% of gaza�*s people are now displaced at many of them are having to be in unrwa shelters. so the pores and funding of western governments has been met with dismay by their mission. i think for several western governments that have paused funding, they are obviously seriously concerned about these allegations that unrwa employees were involved in the attacks but it�*s an opportunity for them to pub

unrwa has not been able _ is a war zone. unrwa has not been able to _ is a war zone.ot been able to confirm the - is a war zone. unrwa has not. been able to confirm the claims of what asaf zamir has said. there have been repeated requests from media organisations for better access to report from inside gaza. it was one of the most shocking moments of the october seven attack on israel, hamas fighters storming into the super nova music festival, killing more than 360 people and taking more than a0 horses back into gaza. now nearly three months on, some of the families have visited the site. our corresponded worry davis went with them to the place where their loved ones were taken. —— wyre. there is little left now at the site of the nova music festival, apart from hundreds of photographs planted in the desert earth — mainly young people who were killed or abducted on october 7. among them, this woman, a wife and mother of an infant son — a boy who will never see his mother again. we told him that his mother won't come back and that his father is missing, that we are lo

unrwa is servin: other parts as well? unrwa is serving more _ other parts as well?g more than _ other parts as well? unrwa is serving more than 5 - other parts as well? unrwa is serving more than 5 million l serving more than 5 million refugees injordan, syria, refugees in jordan, syria, lebanon, refugees injordan, syria, lebanon, the west bank as long as with gaza there is no other body that can serve this refugees. i heard clips from refugees. i heard clips from refugees in this country and they are saying that if the funding would stop that it means a killing for us, there is no difference between killing the palestinians in gaza and killing us gradually by not having funds by not having children going to schools and not having enough healthcare and so on and so forth. in healthcare and so on and so forth. . healthcare and so on and so forth. , ., ., �* , healthcare and so on and so forth. , ., ., �*, , forth. in terms of what's been auoin on forth. in terms of what's been going on overnight, _ forth. in terms of what's been going on overnight, of - forth. in ter

from unrwa singer funding is not resumed they a statement from unrwa singer funding is not resumed they singer funding is not resumed they will not be able to continue their work. also, breaking news coming in from syria, from reuters news agency, seeing that several explosions have been heard on the outskirts of damascus, according to local news outlet, and one witness. a source in iran's regional alliance said the strike... no immediate comment from the syrian authorities. uk prime minister sunak says he is concerned about tensions in the middle east and urged iran to continue to de—escalate tensions there. yes, we are concerned and would urge iran to continue to de—escalate tensions in the region. we absolutely condemn what has happened over the past couple of days. my thoughts are with all of those impacted, those who have lost their lives, their families and those that are injured. we stand resolutely with our allies to bring stability and peace to the region and that is what we will continue to work towards. to discuss all topics related to this story, at 12:30 gmt today we will b

with regard to unrwa, the reports that we got last week, and unrwa brought them to us, were deeply, deeplyng. it is imperative that unrwa me would, investigate, that it hold people accountable as necessary, and that it review its procedures. i had a very good conversation with the secretary general of the united nations last week when we were first made aware of these allegations. and we're going to be looking very hard at the steps that unrwa takes, again, to make sure that this is fully and thoroughly investigated, that there's clear accountability, and that necessmein place so ths doesn't happen again, asuperring the allegations are full -- assuming the allegations are fully borne out. we haven't had the ability to investigate them ourselves, but they are highly, highly credible. at the same time, as you indicated, unrwa has played and continues to play an absolutely indispensable role in trying to make sure that men, women and children who desperately need assistance in actually get it. and no one else can play the role that unrwa's been playing. certainly not in the near term. no one

of workers in unrwa who are committed absolutely and robustly to their humanitarian mandate. a fire is extinguished on a british—linked oil tanker hit by a houthi missile. the us is urging china to help rein in iran's support for the houthi attacks. donald trump says he'll appeal against a court order to pay $83 million in damages to a woman he defamed. and the owner ofjohn lewis and waitrose is considering cutting up to 11,000 staffjobs in the next five years — as part of a plan to improve efficiency. hello i'm nicky schiller. welcome to bbc news. the uk hasjoined the us and several other countries in pausing funding for the un agency for palestinians, unrwa. it follows the sacking of several of unrwa's staff for alleged involvement in the 7 october hamas attacks against israel. an investigation has been launched into the claims, as our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen reports. crushed from the air. lives, homes, families and now the very mission set up to help gaza's desperate is taking a hit too. the un agency for palestinian refugees, or unrwa, firing several employe

should fund it, and unrwa is a branch of hamas. >> tell us to funding to unrwa is on pause until thees. >> it is because the work is so important that we cannot allow it to be threatened, right. that unrwa has to take this seriously, has to be a real investigation, there has to be full accountability and have to be appropriate measures put in place to happen again. >> at an explosive hearing yesterday on capitol hill, lawmakers asked experts whether u.s. taxpayer dollars ended up funding terrorism on october 7th. >> anywhere unrwa goes, terrorism follows. we have documented this for years. >> republican senator tim scott has introduced new legislation that seeks to cut off all u.s. funding for the united nations until unrwa is permanently disbanded, he tells fox news this in a quote, not a single cent of american taxpayers should go toward the beheading of innocent babies, rape of women or the murder of civilians. the u.s. is not alone in this question. 17 countries have now pulled their funding for unrwa, at least until such a time as the u.n. has carried out an investigation. matt

to unrwa and that assistance is now about to end.this is additional collective punishment for the palestinian people. just to give you an idea of the numbers, i mean, in 2022, the us contributed $340 million to unwra. germany was the second biggest funder with $162 million. so that funding has now been frozen temporarily while the un launches this investigation. mark, this must be serious allegations if you have nine key donor nations now suspending funding for unwra. what do we know about some of the staff involved or accused of helping hamas and how might they have aided hamas? well, the un secretary—general, antonio guterres, says that of the 12, nine have been immediately dismissed, one has died and two are currently being identified. now, little concrete is known about the actual allegations. but as you heard in my report, israeli intelligence and the israeli military is said to have passed on information that they say shows the active participation of these people in the 7th of october attacks and the use of unwra facilities an

frankly, without unrwa, gazan would collapsed in terms of service provision.acks by the israelis for they say failing to deal with the exploitation by hamas by some of their facilities in the past or sympathy among some staff with hamas. unrwa has always rejected that saying wherever it finds these kinds of problems that it deals with them. the american museum of natural history in new york says it will close two galleries this weekend which display native american artefacts and cultural items. it�*s in response to new federal regulations that took effect on 12 january that require tribal consent for certain objects to be displayed. that�*s part of broader efforts by the biden administration to return the artifacts to their original owners. the new regulations give institutions five years to prepare all human remains and related funerary objects for repatriation, returning the objects to their rightful owners. the museum�*s actions follows similar measures by institutions in chicago and cleveland. a little earlier my colleague caitriona perry spoke with the pr

stop funding unrwa entirely? >> we are going to recommend that unrwa is simply not capable of educating children. it has failed in its duty, and we've been roaring about this for years. a curriculum which every single day insights young people to violence. the curriculum tells them that jihad and martyrdom are the most important meanings of life. a curriculum that tells them that they must sacrifice themselves. that an attack on civilians should be celebrated, they are taught in math, to add up using martyrs and that example you point there is an example. this points to this curriculum uses every single possibility across all grades, and across all subjects, to radicalize young people and that's appalling. what we saw on october 7th is l school curriculum. as you say, they run the majority of schools in gaza, so imagine 3000 terrorists, who came over the international border on the 7th, murdering, and beheading , they, the majority of them, more than likely statistically went to these schools. so it's just not po

this is very damaging for unrwa. as the state department goes on to say, unrwa provides an has provided for a long time important humanitarian support and aid, unrwa run many of the shelters, hundreds of displaced palestinians sheltering. this idea that unrwa is not fully impartial, that people sympathetic to hamas is within their numbers, something that israel has always considered a danger. and now they have presented unrwa with this evidence. so in the meantime, before this fill review has been thoroughly completed, that question mark will remain. and that was something that antony blinken had spoken to the u.n. secretary-general about yesterday. talked about the importance that this full thorough and independent accounting review, if you will, of unrwa's practices, that the u.n. secretary-general says that he will call upon unrwa to put in place. so this is very fast breaking information and news, just beginning to digest this, but yes, this is certainly damaging on the reputation of unrwa at this moment. >> and

frankly, without unrwa, gazan would collapsed in terms of service provision. been the end of criticism and attacks by the israelis for they say failing to deal with the exploitation ijy to deal with the exploitation by hamas by some of their facilities in the past or sympathy among some staff with hamas. unrwa has always rejected that saying wherever it finds these kinds of problems that it deals with them. tom bateman there. well, for palestinians who live in britain, but with family still in gaza, every day is stressful. many people were killed and injured this week when a un building in khan younis, in the south of the territory, was attacked. doctor mohammed balousha has family who were nearby, and he's been waiting to find out what's happened to them. my colleague reeta chakrabarti went to meet him. voice recording in arabic a voice note from mohammed balousha's brother in gaza. he said, "mohammed, we are evacuating from the besieged school "in khan younis at the moment. "i don't know if we are going to make it or not. "if we don't make it, please know th

several countries have suspended funding for unrwa. mr lazzarini says that is shocking and something which threatens the ongoing humanitarian work in gaza. we'll look at how these developments could affect the people of gaza in the short and long term, but we begin our coverage with this report from our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen. crushed from the air. lives, homes, families, and now the very mission set up to help gaza's desperate is taking a hit, too — the un agency for palestinian refugees, or unrwa, firing several employees for alleged involvement in hamas�* assault on israel. a body set up to protect accused of attack. britain and a handful of other countries have now paused theirfunding. the foreign office said it was appalled by claims of complicity in what it called a heinous act of terrorism. hamas stormed israel on october 7th, killing more than 1,200 people and abducting at least 240. israeli intelligence has reportedly passed on material said to show the participation of unrwa staff and the use of its vehicles an

you can't end -- do you think you can end unrwa right now?ause these people, like, literally, like, are dying of disease and malnutrition and hunger and -- >> yeah, of course, it is not going to end right now. and even the kun countries who suspended funding, there was some congressmen who were upset the state department just sent a ton of money before making that announcement, so unrwa will be fine in the near term. and, of course, no one is saying in the near term abandon the palestinians. but in the slightly more near term, unrwa is not the solution, it is the problem. the swiss foreign minister five years ago said it is a perverse logic, unrwa perpetuates the conflict. they tell palestinians the war is not over, keep going. the u.n. refugee agency, i worked across the street from them every single day, their job is to resettle refugees to make you no longer a refugee, unrwa is the opposite. they want palestinians to be perpetual refugees. that logic has to stop. we have to be concerned about the humanitarian situation and not let that sli

unrwa is our future and our life from _ be do?? this is a shame. they should stand with us. let unrwa foetus _ he told me what effect the holding of nations will have. i he told me what effect the holding of nations will have.— of nations will have. i think the im act of nations will have. i think the impact on _ of nations will have. i think the impact on the _ of nations will have. i think the impact on the suspension - of nations will have. i think the impact on the suspension of i of nations will have. i think the - impact on the suspension of funding will be remembered for a very long time. maybe not in the uk but in the middle east and around the world can actually come of course, if it were true, and we do not know that it is true, and we do not know that it is true, that 12 employees of unrwa out of a staff of 13,000, if it is true that some of them, crack that is terrible and there has to be an investigation. but to cut off aid to the world's worst humanitarian crisis at a time where they have suffered 112 straight days o

that unrwa has done some humanitarian work and that's a good thing.ry difficult to exercise oversight over their activities in gaza, and of course hamas is exercising control over that, and again i think that there's a lot more to uncover here about the extent to which hamas had deeply penetrated unrwa and using them tactically to support their terrorist operations, strategically to exercise control over gaza's population as well. >> gillian: unrwa has infiltrated while they are receiving millions of taxpayer dollars. we'll keep talk about the important story as it unfolds. thanks, dan. >> sandra: legal pot making big bucks for the state of illinois, but is it worth all the risk? (bridget) with thyroid eye disease i hid from the camera. and i wanted to hide from the world. for years, i thought my t.e.d. was beyond help... but then i asked my doctor about tepezza. (vo) tepezza is the only medicine that treats t.e.d. at the source not just the symptoms. in a clinical study more than 8 out of 10 patients taking tepezza had less eye bulging. tepezza is an

not unrwa.ny additional allocations to unrwa we'll certainly consider additional, you know, what depending on the investigation whether that requires any additional changes in the way we support unrwa going forward. >> thank you peter doocy for asking that important question and as john was speaking both of the stories illegal immigration story and this funding to unrwa they do have one thing in common when it comes to biden administration policies it is something that we talked about another story behind scenes and it is called misplace compassion. and it is when you -- the biden administration saw what trump did with the border and then said -- you can't do that, that's wrong. you're mistreating people, and the same thing with the u.n. funding we have to support these people we have to support both groups, illegal immigrants and the people in gaza and west bank but there are drawbacks to these decisions and those drawbacks are we don't know who is in our country right now when it comes to terr

the head of unrwa said the staff had been dismissed immediately.bateman has more. unrwa says the information was passed to them by the israelis and this was an allegation that several of their staff had been involved in the october 7th attack. crucially, we do not know exactly the details of the allegations. they have not been revealed. but what the head of unrwa said is they are being investigated and that they will be, he says, accountability against anyone found to be involved in terrorism, including, he has said, criminal prosecution. but i think in a sign of just how seriously this is being taken, the us state department has said that it will withhold further funding to unrwa until it is satisfied that all of this is being looked into. that matters because unrwa needs more than $1 billion a year to keep running. it is a huge service providerfor palestinian refugees in gaza, the occupied west bank, in eastjerusalem and the wider region, and these are people that rely on unrwa for schools, for hospitals, health services, food and welfare and oth

counterparts friday, who quickly paused unrwa funding.s of other countries have followed, raising concerns that the agency's absence could escalate suffering in gaza. >> the impact would be devastating of cutting aid to the organization that's the backbone of services to palestinian civilians. there's no other organization, including my own, that were all there in gaza, that could take over what unrwa is doing. >> reporter: unrwa is the only organization bringing aid into gaza. most of the 2 million residence depend on them. they provide food, water and shelter, desperation landlords so bad that aid trucks are often looted before they reach warehouses. it's on a par with israel's bombs. this will mean more starvation, poverty and deappraisation, which this professor tells us, which this decision means killing us. killing the human being. this is a death sentence. this is the only thing we live on and you want to cut it? unrwa has fired nine staff over the allegations and is investigating two others. one person is dead. the u.n. promising

services that unrwa provides.so long been at the end of criticism and attacks by the israelis for, they say, failing to deal with the exploitation by hamas in some of their facilities in the past were simply among some staff with hamas. unrwa is always rejected saying, wherever it finds that problems, it deals with them. an oil tanker is on fire in the gulf of aden — its operator says, after houthis said they hit it with a missile. the movement said it had targeted the marlin luanda on friday evening. operator trafigura told the bbc the strike caused a fire in one of the ship's cargo tanks and firefighting equipment was being used to contain it. us officials say there are no reported injuries. it's the latest attack on commercial shipping by the houthis in and around the red sea. king charles is reported to be doing well after treatment today to address an enlarged prostate. earlier today queen camilla, visited the hospital — the same one where catherine, the princess of wales, the king's daugher in law is also re

we start in gaza — where the united nations has been working to shore up unrwa, its palestinian refugeegency which has seen several nations suspend funding after israel claimed to have found proof that unrwa staff took part in the hamas attacks last october. secretary general antonio guterres has been meeting representatives of more than 30 donor countries, to discuss contributions. the un says it is carrying out a thorough investigation — although it added that it has not yet received anything in writing from israel. the un's humanitarian co—ordinator for gaza said it was vital for unrwa to be able to continue with its work. there is no substitution for the humanitarian role that is played in gaza. we need to all ramp up given the totality of needs and the scale and the complexity of the crisis. but there is no substitution. there is no way any organization can replace or substitute the tremendous capacity, the fabric of unrwa, the ability and their knowledge of the population in gaza. the palestinian representative at the un has called for unrwa to be defended, because it is the only

with regard to unrwa, the reports we received last week and unrwa brought them to us were deeply, deeply very hard a few steps 0ndra takes, again, to make sure this is fully and thoroughly investigated, that there is clear accountability and that is necessary, measures are put in place so that this does not happen —— steps unrwa takes. assuming the allegations are fully borne out. we have not had the ability to investigate them ourselves, but they are highly, highly credible. at the same time and as you indicated, unrwa has played and continues to play and absolutely in the spendable role in trying to make sure that men, women and children who so desperately need assistance in does actually get it —— on expendable role. no one has the reach, capacity, structure to do what unrwa has been doing, and from our perspective, it is more than important, it is imperative that role continues, so that only underscores the importance of unrwa tackling this as quickly, as effectively and as thoroughly as possible, and that is what we are looking for. i will meet members of congress tomorrow— i will m

not to withdraw funding from its main agency which delivers aid to palestinians in gaza — known as unrwao pull money for the organisation — after israel alleged that 12 of its staff were involved in the deadly october seventh attacks by hamas. the agency, which employs 30,000 members of staff, 1,300 of whom work in gaza, says it is investigating and has already sacked nine employees. here's un spokesman, stephane dujarric. the secretary general is horrified by this news and asks mr lazzarini to investigate this matter swiftly and to ensure that any unrwa employees shown to have participated or abetted in what transpired on october seventh, or in any other criminalactivity, be terminated immediately and referred for potential criminal prosecution. our middle east correspondent mark lowen has more on the fallout from israel's allegations against memebrs of unrwa staff in gaza. looking at those allegations, the un says that it concerns 12 members of staff. nine of them have been immediately dismissed. two are currently being identified and one, says the un secretary—general, has died. the s

the israelis have no time for unrwa whatsoever. in gaza, the occupied west bank and westjerusalem. it has been since 1948. and westjerusalem. it has been since 19118. and so, what happens with unrwa really matters. it's had funding stream for a very long time for a lot of these political reasons, particularly during the trump years. for context, there are 13,000 staff that work for unrwa in gaza. the state department is talking about 12 people. i suppose is this crisis goes on, we might hear a bit more from unrwa that they can't have a handle on everything, on 13,000 people, but they say they are looking into this and investigating.— are looking into this and investigating. are looking into this and investiuuatin. ., . ., ., and charles is said to be doing well. he was visited earlier by queen camilla, seen here leaving the hospital. the king had a procedure being diagnosed with the condition earlier today. being diagnosed with the condition earliertoday. —— being diagnosed with the condition earlier today. —— earlier this month. c

unrwa says the members of staff will face _ organisation.taff will face criminal _ of staff will face criminal prosecution if necessary and i do want to pick up on the court case which you mentioned, and it has been described by south africa which raised the case as a victory for south africa and for the palestinian people and it was clear in the court, the rulings, 15 people and it was clear in the court, the rulings, isjustices against two, the court stands firmly against two, the court stands firmly against israel's action and it is now proceeding with these investigations into possible claims of genocide. how do you react to this ruling?— this ruling? the most important thin is this ruling? the most important thing is that _ this ruling? the most important thing is that the _ this ruling? the most important thing is that the court _ this ruling? the most important thing is that the court rejected i thing is that the court rejected south africa's astonishing preposterous demand that israel not be given the right to defend itself and the f