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Former French minister will lead independent UNRWA review, U.N. chief says
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed a former French foreign minister to lead an independent review of the organization’s Palestinian refugee agency following allegations against some of its staff.
According to a statement today, the review group was formed at the request of Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA. The review will look at UNRWA from a large-scale operational perspective and is separate from the Office of Internal Oversight Services inquiry into Israel’s accusations that some of the agency’s Gaza staff members have terrorism ties.
The review group will examine the UNRWA’s neutrality, its ability to respond to misconduct allegations and how it accounts for its operational limitations, and the group will recommend ways the agency can strengthen its efforts.
Former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna will lead the inquiry with help from three research organizations: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
‘We were sleeping until dust dropped all over us,’ young girl says amid rubble of her home
A young Palestinian girl named Lujain looks haunted as she stares at the wreckage inside her family’s home in southern Gaza, which succumbed to an airstrike over the weekend.
She lists the names of her relatives who were killed as well as those still recovering in the hospital. Their home stands in the southern city of Rafah.
“We were sleeping until dust dropped all over us. They bombed a house next to us and then our house. They took me to another house,” the kindergartener said, crying, to an NBC News team in Gaza.
In the video, pots and pans laid discarded on the kitchen floor, coated with debris as the kitchen wall appeared torn apart with a gaping hole.
Elsewhere grieving family members crowded around a dead young boy named Bassem, who was killed in the strike.
“I swear you are going to stay in my lap. My baby, oh God be with me, please stay in my lap,” Bassem’s grandmother, Fatima Hijazi, said weeping over his body wrapped in a white burial shroud.
“I swear I miss you, my grandchild,” she added, kissing his cheek.
Bassem’s father clung on to a piece a paper he said was filled with his son’s writing.
“These are the writing on the paper. My son kept writing and learning while they banned them and stopped them from school,” the grieving father said of his son’s pastimes amid the war.
The Palestinian ministry of information said first responders recovered “a number of martyrs and wounded, as a result of the occupation aircraft targeting two homes belonging to the Hijazi and Al-Hams families” in a statement on Saturday posted to their telegram channel.
Tributes to hostages, calls for a cease-fire: How the Gaza war featured at the Grammys
The Israel-Hamas war was prominent in tributes and calls for action at the Grammys awards in Los Angeles last night.
Social media star Montana Tucker appeared on the red carpet in a giant yellow ribbon on her dress in a tribute to the hostages who remain in Hamas’ captivity. The yellow ribbon has become a symbol of their plight. “Bring them home,” Tucker said on Instagram alongside a photo of her outfit.
Singer Annie Lennox called for a cease-fire in Gaza while performing a tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor.
“Artists for cease-fire,” she said. “Peace in the world.”
Lennox is among dozens of artists who have signed an open letter to President Joe Biden calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and the safe release of hostages.
Meanwhile, Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, spoke about the unifying power of music and acknowledged deadly attacks at music events in Paris, Las Vegas and Manchester, England, as well as the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on the Nova music festival in Israel.
Blinken arrives in Riyadh in his fifth trip to the region
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Riyadh today, the first stop on his latest tour of the Middle East as the U.S. looks to push for a new hostage deal.
Blinken is expected to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
This is Blinken’s fifth trip to the region and is expected to also advance discussions on a post-war deal for Gaza, which are thought to involve the possibility of an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations.
OECD ups world growth forecast but warns of Middle East ‘risk’
The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development today raised its economic outlook for global growth, forecasting a GDP growth of 2.9% for this year.
But it highlighted Middle East as challenge, outlining geopolitical tensions in the region as a “key source of uncertainty.”
“Threats to shipping in the Red Sea have increased shipping costs and lengthened supplier delivery time,” it said in a statement, adding that further escalation could pressure on prices of goods and pose a “risk” to economic growth.
Houthi rebels vow new attacks after latest U.S. strikes
Waves of American strikes against Iranian-backed militia were carried out all weekend in response to the killing of three U.S. service members.
Russia to summon Israeli ambassador over ‘unacceptable’ comments, state media reports
Russia’s foreign ministry will summon Israel’s ambassador, Simona Halperin, state news agency Tass reported, over her “unacceptable comments” in a recent interview.
In the interview with Russia’s Kommersant newspaper published yesterday, Halperin criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for downplaying the significance of the Holocaust and said Israel does not understand why Russia is giving special treatment to Hamas, welcoming their members in Moscow. Russia says these talks with Hamas are important to free the hostages, she said, but it has not yielded any results yet.
“Russia’s position worries and depresses me,” Halperin added.
In response, Russia’s foreign ministry told Tass that Halperin’s comments were “distorting Russian foreign policy approaches and historical realities,” and were an “extremely unsuccessful start” to her diplomatic mission.
The Kremlin has been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and critical of Israel’s operation in Gaza, while trying to still maintain friendly diplomatic relations with Israel. Hamas members traveled to Moscow for talks in October, just weeks after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to Russian state media.
At least 30 people killed in airstrikes in Deir al-Balah, Palestinian officials say
TEL AVIV — At least 30 people were killed in the area of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza over the weekend in Israel’s assault of the enclave, Palestinian officials said.
They said multiple homes and a mosque in the area were hit in air attacks within a 24-hour period.
Images captured by local photographers showed injured people arriving at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah following reported strikes.
NBC News was not immediately able to independently verify the claims.
Asked for comment, the IDF said in a statement that it is “operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities.”
Houthi supporters gather in Yemen
Houthi tribesmen carry rocket-propelled grenades on the back of a vehicle yesterday near Sanaa, Yemen.
Blinken on way to Saudi Arabia as part of fifth tour to Middle East since Oct. 7 attacks
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to the Middle East again today, his fifth trip to the region since the Oct. 7 attacks, to push for a new deal that will secure the release of hostages, an extended humanitarian pause to the fighting in Gaza and increased aid to the enclave.
Negotiators are still awaiting word from Hamas on the initial framework of an agreement drafted in Paris last month.
Blinken will also be traveling to Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the occupied West Bank for talks, according to the State Department.
U.S.-backed Kurdish forces say 6 fighters killed in drone strike on U.S base
Six fighters of a U.S.-backed Kurdish-led force were killed today in a drone strike on an American base in eastern Syria, the group said in a statement.
The strike targeted a training academy in the al-Omar field, east of Deir ez-Zor, the Syrian Democratic Forces said.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attack was carried out by Iranian-backed militias in response to the U.S. strikes over the weekend.
The U.S. military has not commented.
U.S. carries out self-defense strikes on missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen
U.S. Central Command forces launched self-defense strikes against land attack and anti-ship cruise missles in Yemen yesterday, the agency said on X.
At approximately 5:30 a.m. local time, forces launched a strike “in self-defense against a Houthi land attack cruise missile,” Central Command said.
Then, starting at 10:30 a.m., “U.S. forces struck four anti-ship cruise missiles, all of which were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea,” Central Command said.
U.S. forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, and determined they were a threat to U.S. Navy ships and other merchant vessels in the area, according to Central Command.
The strikes were not a continuation of Saturday’s coalition strikes.
IDF operations in Khan Younis
An image released by the Israeli Army shows troops raiding a building in Khan Younis during ground operations in the southern Gaza Strip today.
Catch up with NBC News’ coverage of the conflict
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