As Israel continues its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the United Nations has announced it will be pulling back international workers from the Palestinian territory after a UN employee was killed. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has claimed it has killed a key Hezbollah commander.
With Israeli attacks on the rise in Gaza, Arab mediators are scrambling to implement another truce in the area. Egypt has presented a new truce following the escalation in attacks.
Gaza War | Latest Developments
Hezbollah Commander Killed In Lebanon
As Israel continues its attacks in Lebanon, the Israeli military says it killed a Hezbollah anti-tank unit commander in fresh strikes in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon.
As per the official statement from IDF, Hassan Kamal Halawi was “responsible for numerous terror attacks against the state of Israel”, it said in a statement.
“He facilitated the movement of operatives and the supply of weapons into southern Lebanon. In recent months, Halawi continued to engage in terrorist activity against Israeli civilians," the statement added.
UN To Scale Back Workers In Gaza
The United Nations has announced that it will be scaling back its presence in the Gaza Strip. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that while it will be difficult to remove UN's footprint in the strip due to the humanitarian crisis, around one-third of its international workers will be withdrawn.
"The U.N. is not leaving Gaza. The organization remains committed to continuing to provide aid that civilians depend on for their survival and protection,” said Guterres in the statement
This decision from the UN also comes after several employees have been killed due to Israeli attacks in the region.
As per reports, 280 UN staff members have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023.
Egypt Presents New Truce Plan
As the attacks resume, Egypt has floated a new ceasefire proposal for the Gaza Strip. In this new plan, Egypt has called for Hamas to release five Israeli hostages each week and Israel implemented the second phase of the ceasefire, as discussed in the January agreement.
Hamas is currently holding 59 hostages, of whom 24 are presumed to be alive. As per a Reuters report, both the US and Hamas have agreed to Egypt's proposal, but Israel is yet to respond.
