Sudan Army, Paramilitary RSF Commit to Facilitating Humanitarian Aid

The mediators expressed their regret that the two parties had not reached an agreement for a ceasefire. (AFP/Getty Images)
The mediators expressed their regret that the two parties had not reached an agreement for a ceasefire. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Sudan Army, Paramilitary RSF Commit to Facilitating Humanitarian Aid

The mediators expressed their regret that the two parties had not reached an agreement for a ceasefire. (AFP/Getty Images)
The mediators expressed their regret that the two parties had not reached an agreement for a ceasefire. (AFP/Getty Images)

The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) will commit to facilitating humanitarian aid and implement trust-building measures, a joint statement by Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the regional African bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development said on Tuesday.

The statement, carried by the Saudi state news agency (SPA), comes on the heels of a new round of talks between the warring parties that restarted in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea city of Jeddah last month.

The mediators expressed their regret that the two parties had not reached an agreement for a ceasefire, the statement said, and urged them "to put the interests of the Sudanese people first, put down their weapons, and engage in negotiations to end this conflict".



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”