France, Spain Oppose Suspending Aid to Palestinian Territories 

Palestinians inspect the destruction from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City's al-Rimal neighborhood early on October 10, 2023. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City's al-Rimal neighborhood early on October 10, 2023. (AFP)
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France, Spain Oppose Suspending Aid to Palestinian Territories 

Palestinians inspect the destruction from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City's al-Rimal neighborhood early on October 10, 2023. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City's al-Rimal neighborhood early on October 10, 2023. (AFP)

France and Spain said on Tuesday they oppose suspending aid to the Palestinian territories.

France is not in favor of suspending aid that benefits Palestinians directly in response to a recent outbreak of violence in Israel, the foreign ministry in Paris said.

"We are not in favor of suspending aid that directly benefits the Palestinian people, and we made this clear to the European Commission yesterday," the ministry said in a statement.

The Spanish Acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said his government opposes the proposed suspension of European Union aid to the Palestinians.

"This cooperation must continue, we cannot confuse Hamas, which is in the list of EU's terrorist groups, with the Palestinian population, or the Palestinian Authority or the United Nation's organizations on the ground," Albares said in an interview with Spanish radio Cadena SER.

He added that Palestinian territories will likely need more aid in the near future after Hamas' Saturday attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

EU foreign ministers will meet to discuss the issue on Tuesday afternoon.



UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

The UN rights chief on Tuesday voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.

Israel has been locked in fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since Oct. 2023, and fighting has escalated dramatically since late September of this year.

"UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk is gravely concerned by the escalation in Lebanon with at least 97 people reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes between the 22nd and 24th of November," Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing.

He said that at least seven paramedics had been reported killed in three Israeli strikes in the south of Lebanon on Nov. 22-23, adding to 226 healthcare worker deaths since Oct. 7, 2023. He did not specify how many of the recent deaths had been verified by UN human rights monitors.

Israel says it targets military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.