Israel has imposed financial restrictions on the main UN agency providing aid in the Gaza Strip, a measure which prevented a shipment of food for 1.1 million Palestinians from reaching the war-battered enclave, the agency's director said Friday.
The restrictions deepened a crisis between Israel and UNRWA, whose operations have been threatened following Israeli accusations that some of its workers participated in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered Israel's war in Gaza. Those accusations have led major donor nations, including the U.S., to suspend funding to the UN organization and left its future in question.
UNRWA's director, Philippe Lazzarini, said Friday that that a convoy of food donated by Turkey has been sitting for weeks in the Israeli port city of Ashdod. The agency said that the Israeli contractor they work with received a call from Israeli customs authorities “ordering them not to process any UNRWA goods.â€
That stoppage means 1,049 shipping containers of rice, flour, chickpeas, sugar and cooking oil — enough to feed 1.1 million people for one month — are stuck, even as an estimated 25 per cent of families in Gaza face catastrophic hunger.
The World Food Program warned Friday that Gaza could be plunged into famine as early as May. The UN food agency defines a famine as when 30 per cent of children are malnourished, one-fifth of households face acute food shortages and two of every 10,000 people are dying from hunger or malnutrition.
Israel declared war and imposed a siege on Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. The war has led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with only a trickle of humanitarian aid entering the territory each day.
Israel has long railed against UNRWA, accusing it of tolerating or even collaborating with Hamas and perpetuating the 76-year-old Palestinian refugee crisis. UNRWA, which serves about 6 million Palestinians whose families were displaced during the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948, denies the charges. But the tensions have only intensified following the latest allegations by Israel.
Juliette Touma, communications director for the agency, said that UNWRA's bank account with Bank Leumi, which the agency has held for decades, was also frozen this week. In addition, Touma said that Israeli customs authorities notified the agency that UNRWA will no longer be granted tax exemptions.
Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, tweeted on Thursday that “the state of Israel will not give tax benefits to terrorist aides.â€
Smotrich, a far-right ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, didn't respond to a request for comment.
The agency has been able to reroute other aid shipments through Port Said in Egypt, but Lazzarini warned Friday that the holdup means further difficulties in the already challenging task of aid distribution to Gaza. About 80 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced by the war.
UNWRA is the main provider of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, but Israeli bombardment and combat between Israel and Hamas has made much of the territory too dangerous for aid convoys to cross. The agency has been unable to deliver aid to around 300,000 Palestinians estimated to still be in the northern half of Gaza, where the World Food Program says food insecurity is the worst.
Lazzarini said efforts have instead focused on the 1.3 million displaced Palestinians sheltering in the makeshift tent camps of Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt where the agency relies on local police to escort aid convoys to distribution points to prevent theft. But that has also grown increasingly challenging, as Israeli warplanes bomb targets in the city.
Airstrikes there killed eight police officers in the city over the last four days, Lazzarini said, making police reluctant to continue helping the agency. Three strikes have taken place near an UNWRA clinic, Lazzarini said. Israeli media have portrayed the police escorts as an attempt by Hamas to seize aid shipments for its own use.
Lazzarini said that the police the agency works with weren't affiliated with militant groups. Juliette Touma, agency spokesperson, said the police escort was necessary to prevent people from throwing stones at the convoy and attempting to steal aid from them.
Israel alleged last month that 12 employees of the aid agency participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel. Several countries suspended funding worth about US$440 million, almost half of the agency’s annual budget.
Two UN investigations are underway, including an independent review announced this week. The review, headed by a former French foreign minister, is supposed to focus on the way the agency ensures that it remains neutral and responds to allegations that it failed to do so. Colonna’s team plans to look at whether the system works and how it might be improved.
Lazzarini said Friday that he immediately fired the 10 workers, rather than suspending them, without first investigating the evidence against them. Two others had been killed by the time the allegations surfaced. Lazzarini said there was too much pressure on the organization — and current conditions make investigating the workers difficult — to do anything else.
“Knowing that the organization is under fierce and ugly attacks,†he said, “I could not take the risk ... I could have suspended them, but I fired them.â€
Amid new polling indicating most Canadians support boosting Old Age Security (OAS) benefits by 10 per cent for seniors aged 65 to 74, a former Liberal finance minister and former Bank of Canada governor are warning the government not to pursue the policy change.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city's district attorney said Thursday.
An Ontario child has died after coming in contact with a rabid bat, a health official confirmed on Wednesday.
A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted. Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg.
A woman who says she worked as a hair-and-makeup stylist for Garth Brooks alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday that he raped her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2019.
Three former Memphis police officers were convicted Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the harshest charges they faced for a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
Melania Trump revealed her support for abortion rights Thursday ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir, exposing a stark contrast with her husband, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, on the crucial election issue.
Defence Minister Bill Blair says Israel has the right to defend itself in 'a calibrated and proportional way' following Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on Tuesday.
When an Ontario doctor refused to sign off on a mammogram for 38-year-old Sidra Lone, the mother of four says she was left with no choice but to lie.
Magna International Inc. says it is conducting a “targeted review†of its records as its founder, Frank Stronach, is facing additional sexual assault charges.
Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has requested bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions in Toronto and the prison sentence he received last month.
A man charged with first-degree murder in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., doesn't have to sit in the prisoner's box when his trial begins next month, a judge with the Superior Court of Justice has ruled.
The River East Transcona School Division has filed a lawsuit against the City of Winnipeg regarding a fire at one of its schools in March 2022.
A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted. Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg.
When an Ontario doctor refused to sign off on a mammogram for 38-year-old Sidra Lone, the mother of four says she was left with no choice but to lie.
More than 180 people were evacuated Thursday from a Ryanair Boeing passenger jet after it caught fire while taxiing to take off at Brindisi Airport in southern Italy.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city's district attorney said Thursday.
A TikTok content creator was arrested in Dallas this week and is facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of a Baton Rouge counsellor and life coach whose body was found on the side of a Louisiana highway over the weekend, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
Three former Memphis police officers were convicted Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the harshest charges they faced for a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
The Israeli military on Thursday warned people to evacuate a city and other communities in southern Lebanon that are north of a UN-declared buffer zone, signalling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire just days before he was assassinated by Israel.
Defence Minister Bill Blair says Israel has the right to defend itself in 'a calibrated and proportional way' following Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on Tuesday.
Federal fisheries officers in Nova Scotia say they're refusing some enforcement duties because of threats to their safety, as they await Ottawa's response to their complaints.
Government business has been put on indefinite pause in the House of Commons and the Conservatives say it will stay that way until the Liberals hand over documents related to misspent government dollars.
Hundreds of Saskatchewan nurses and their supporters rallied outside the legislative building on Thursday calling for action to ongoing staffing shortages and hospital overcrowding around the province.
When an Ontario doctor refused to sign off on a mammogram for 38-year-old Sidra Lone, the mother of four says she was left with no choice but to lie.
An Ontario child has died after coming in contact with a rabid bat, a health official confirmed on Wednesday.
A hacking group tied to Russian intelligence tried to worm its way into the systems of dozens of western think tanks, journalists and former military and intelligence officials, Microsoft and U.S. authorities said Thursday.
Google is pumping more artificial intelligence into its search engine.
Amazon Web Services’ director of global artificial intelligence is encouraging Canada not to go it alone when it comes to regulating the technology.
A woman who says she worked as a hair-and-makeup stylist for Garth Brooks alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday that he raped her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2019.
Rapper Eminem announced that his daughter Hailie Jade, 28, is expecting her first child via a new music video on Thursday for his song 'Temporary,' featuring Skylar Grey.
Defence lawyers for Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard suggested a woman accusing him of sexual assault concocted an 'extravagant false story' about the nature of the encounter to gain sympathy and hide her infidelity.
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A sign has gone up in front of the most expensive home in B.C. – the waterfront mansion owned by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson – calling the provincial NDP "communist."
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After spending eight years living in the United Arab Emirates before the birth of their daughter in the late 1990s took them back to Canada, teachers Zora and Dave Keffer were no strangers to exploring the world.
Caitlin Clark has been named the WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote, giving the Indiana Fever back-to-back winners after Aliyah Boston won the honour last season.
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Tesla is recalling more than 27,000 Cybertrucks because the rearview camera image may not activate immediately after shifting into reverse, the fifth recall for the vehicle since it went on sale late last year.
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The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.
New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.
On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.
A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.
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A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.
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One person is dead after a floatplane carrying three people crashed Wednesday evening in a remote inlet on British Columbia's central coast.
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The mother of a man who was shot and killed in Etobicoke five years ago is pleading for information that could help solve the case as police announce a new $5,000 award.
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Transit Services General Manager Renée Amilcar says the 21-day trial running period for the north-south Trillium Line LRT will begin Oct. 7, meaning the line could open to the public as soon as mid-November.
A 37-year-old Ottawa business owner is facing charges after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted while applying for a job, according to police.
Most Canadians want employers to be flexible on hybrid work policies in the future, saying work-from-home arrangements enhance employee productivity and well-being, according to a new survey.
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A 21-year-old man was found lifeless in Sherbrooke, in the Eastern Townships, on Thursday afternoon.
A new study out of Montreal's Concordia University found that, if policies and trends remain unchanged, a two-bedroom in Montreal will cost $4,325 per month, a similar unit in Toronto will cost $5,600 and one in Vancouver will be around $7,750 within eight years.
An Edmonton hot tub repairman who was the subject of a previous Â鶹´«Ã½ Edmonton report has been charged with fraud.
Police started searching a rural property north of Edmonton on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a suspected drug manufacturing lab.
A woman has been arrested after a search of a Blackfalds home turned up six guns and more than half a pound of cocaine.
Federal fisheries officers in Nova Scotia say they're refusing some enforcement duties because of threats to their safety, as they await Ottawa's response to their complaints.
The annual fall vaccines for the flu and COVID are still not available for Nova Scotians.
More than a hundred people living in a mobile home park in Summerside, P.E.I., have been told to pay up or move out.
Residents of an apartment building remain shaken up following an officer-involved shooting inside Wednesday afternoon that killed an armed man.
Small business owners want to see a temporary program that helps combat retail theft be made permanent.
A Manitoba politician who was ousted from the NDP caucus is accusing Premier Wab Kinew of lunging at him and grabbing his arm in 2019, when the New Democrats were in Opposition.
A man has died in hospital from injuries sustained after being struck by a vehicle on Monday.
Hundreds of Saskatchewan nurses and their supporters rallied outside the legislative building on Thursday calling for action to ongoing staffing shortages and hospital overcrowding around the province.
Saskatchewan is expecting its first widespread frost of the season Thursday night and Friday morning, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
A Cambridge, Ont. father wants answers after his adult son, who has autism, was arrested and charged with assault after an encounter with a jogger.
An Ontario child has died after coming in contact with a rabid bat, a health official confirmed on Wednesday.
Property owners in Waterloo could face a fine if their fire alarm isn’t reset within 45 minutes of crews arriving on scene.
Staff at Saskatoon's Royal University Hospital (RUH) are calling for systemic changes just two days after its emergency room was more than three times above its capacity.
The mayor of Loon Lake is appealing to both provincial and federal government leaders for assistance in dealing with rising crime in the village, which has seen an increase in vandalism, theft, and property damage.
Staff at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert seized a sizeable load of contraband on Monday, according to the federal correctional service.
An Ontario child has died after coming in contact with a rabid bat, a health official confirmed on Wednesday.
A fingerprint found on a detergent bottle at the crime scene matched second-degree murder suspect Felicity Altiman, a Sudbury court heard Thursday.
A man charged with first-degree murder in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., doesn't have to sit in the prisoner's box when his trial begins next month, a judge with the Superior Court of Justice has ruled.
Coun. Sam Trosow admits he can’t be certain if it was a beer or a non-alcohol beer that he can be seen drinking during last week’s council meeting.
At least one city councillor has said that she’d like to see the province investigate after a person died following an overdose at London’s safe consumption site Tuesday.
The 36th annual Thanksgiving Food Drive kicked off Thursday with the goal of helping young families and children that face food insecurity issues in our community.
Governance, leadership, quality of care, operations, and financial performance are all concerns highlighted in a final report from an investigation into Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston.
A 62-year-old man has been charged after police received a report about an employee stealing over $60,000 worth of materials from a Huntsville business.
Closing submissions are underway on Thursday in the case of a Barrie man on trial for the death of a young mother 30 years ago.
Juliana Pannunzio, 20, was killed on Jan. 19, 2021, during a house party in Fort Erie, Ontario.
The rabies-related death of a Brantford-area child is highlighting concerns Windsor-Essex health officials flagged following a rise in bat bites.
The Downtown Mission is looking to raise $50,000 during its annual 24-hour “Bench Talk†fundraiser, happening now outside its Ouellette Avenue location.
One person is dead after a floatplane carrying three people crashed Wednesday evening in a remote inlet on British Columbia's central coast.
Three pit bulls involved in a deadly attack on another dog last month in Kamloops, B.C., tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine, and the city is going to court to have them put down.
Mounties in British Columbia say they've seized more than 30 tonnes of chemicals that investigators believe were to be used in the production of methamphetamine.
Three young suspects have been arrested in connection with a swarming attack on a teenager in B.C.'s Okanagan last week – and authorities have asked the public to stop circulating disturbing videos of the incident.
A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.
The officer who shot and killed a forcible confinement suspect in Kamloops two years ago was justified in doing so, according to the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
WestJet has changed its operations at the Lethbridge Airport, and it means there's now only a single daily flight from Lethbridge to Calgary, down from three flights a day, as offered previously.
Archie's Exotic Pet Rescue has been open about six years and, like many other animal rescues, it has seen a surge in surrenders.
It’s almost deadline day for Lethbridge residents interested in becoming members of one of the city’s boards, commissions and committees (BCCs).
A man charged with first-degree murder in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., doesn't have to sit in the prisoner's box when his trial begins next month, a judge with the Superior Court of Justice has ruled.
After receiving complaints about off-road vehicles, police in Greater Sudbury laid more than a dozen charges in a recent safety blitz.
Aiming to bolster public trust and accountability – and help with investigations -- police in Sault Ste. Marie have equipped their vehicles with cameras.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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