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Israel Says It Killed Hamas Commander Who ‘Doubled’ as UN Aid Worker

Fighters from Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
Fighters from Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
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Israel Says It Killed Hamas Commander Who ‘Doubled’ as UN Aid Worker

Fighters from Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
Fighters from Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)

Israel's military said on Thursday it killed a Hamas commander who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel and also worked for the UN aid agency in the Gaza Strip.
The agency, UNRWA, has been accused by Israel of having many employees who double as members of Hamas and other armed groups. The UN, after an investigation, said in August that nine UNRWA staff were possibly involved in the Oct. 7 attacks and fired them.
The Israeli military said Mohammad Abu Itiwi was killed on Wednesday. It said he was a Hamas commander and had been involved in the murder and abduction of Israeli civilians. It also said he had been employed by UNRWA since July 2022 and that his name appeared on a list of the agency's employees.
UNRWA confirmed Itiwi was a staff member and was killed on Wednesday. It said Itiwi's name was included in a letter UNRWA received from Israel in July that included a list of 100 staff members who were also allegedly members of armed groups, including Hamas.
"The UNRWA commissioner general responded to that letter immediately stating that any allegation is taken seriously. He urged (the government of Israel) to cooperate with the agency by providing more information so he could take action. To date, UNRWA has not received any response to that letter," said Juliette Touma, UNRWA's director of communications.
UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but relations have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded.
"Israel has requested urgent clarifications from senior UN officials and an urgent investigation into the involvement of UNRWA employees in the Oct. 7 massacre," said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

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Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
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Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Türkiye, capping what is likely his final trip.
Blinken had been expected to remain in Italy through the weekend to join President Joe Biden but the outgoing US leader scrapped his trip, which was to include an audience with Pope Francis, to address wildfires sweeping Los Angeles.
Blinken, on a trip that has taken him to South Korea, Japan and France, was heading on Thursday from Paris and will meet for dinner in Rome with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
In Paris on Wednesday, Blinken said the United States was united with the Europeans on seeking a peaceful, stable Syria, a month after the opposition factions toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
But concerns have mounted over Türkiye’s threats against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have effectively run their own state during the brutal civil war engulfing Syria.
A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have worked with the United States on Washington's main stated priority -- battling the ISIS extremist group -- but Türkiye says the SDF has links with PKK militants at home.
Blinken in Paris said that Türkiye had "legitimate concerns" and that the SDF should gradually be integrated into a revamped national army, with foreign fighters removed.
"That's a process that's going to take some time. And in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict," Blinken told reporters.
"We'll work very hard to make sure that that doesn't happen."
Blinken said he expected no change on goals in Syria from US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on January 20.
During his last term, Trump briefly said he would accede to a plea by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pull out US troops that have been working in Syria with the Kurdish forces.
But he backed down after counter-appeals led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
When to ease sanctions?
Also on the agenda in Rome will be whether and when to ease sanctions on Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday that some sanctions "could be lifted quickly".
The US Treasury Department said this week it would ease enforcement on restrictions that affect essential services.
But US officials say they will wait to see progress before any wider easing of sanctions -- and the Biden administration is unlikely in its final days to accept the political costs of removing Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels from the US "terrorism" blacklist.
While Western powers are largely in synch on Syria, some differences remain.
Blinken reiterated US calls on European countries to repatriate citizens of theirs detained in Syria for working with the ISIS group and languishing in vast camps run by the Kurdish fighters.
France and Britain, with painful memories of attacks by homegrown extremists, have little desire to bring militants back.
The Rome talks come a week after the French and German foreign ministers, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, jointly visited Damascus and met new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to encourage an inclusive transition.
Sharaa, has promised to protect minorities after the fall of the iron-fisted but largely secular Assad.
A senior US official in turn said last month on meeting Sharaa that Washington was dropping a $10-million bounty on his head.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will pay his own visit to Syria on Friday, during which he plans to announce an initial development aid package.
Italy's hard-right government has pledged to reduce immigration. Millions of Syrians sought asylum in Europe during the civil war, triggering a backlash in some parts of the continent that shook up European politics.
In contrast to other major European powers, Italy had moved to normalize ties with Assad just weeks before he fell, presuming at the time that he had effectively won the war.