Iraqi Army: 2 Rockets Hit Baghdad's Green Zone

 In this file photo taken on December 29, 2014 US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located thirty kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. -AFP
In this file photo taken on December 29, 2014 US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located thirty kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. -AFP
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Iraqi Army: 2 Rockets Hit Baghdad's Green Zone

 In this file photo taken on December 29, 2014 US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located thirty kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. -AFP
In this file photo taken on December 29, 2014 US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located thirty kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. -AFP

Two rockets hit Iraqi capital's high-security Green Zone early Thursday, hours before US-led forces were set to pull out of a second base in the country.

The two projectiles struck near the Baghdad Operations Command, which coordinates Iraq's police and military forces, the military said.

The command center is a few hundred meters away from the US Embassy, which is a regular target of rocket attacks. However, an Iraqi security official who spoke on condition of anonymity said there were no casualties.

Some 7,500 troops are in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition helping local troops fight terrorist remnants.

However, the number is being brought down by temporarily bringing some trainers home as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus pandemic. The alliance is also leaving other Iraqi bases altogether.

It was the latest rocket attack to strike the Green Zone since three rockets hit an area near the embassy last Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier this month, two US military personnel and a British soldier were killed in a rocket attack on the Taji airbase further north, which was hit again two days later.

The repeated assaults prompted US airstrikes against what US officials said were mainly weapons facilities belonging to Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Iraqi militia group believed to be responsible for the attack.



UNRWA Says Israel Still Preventing Aid from Reaching Northern Gaza

FILE PHOTO: A damaged sign is pictured at the headquarters of UNRWA, following an Israeli raid, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, July 12, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A damaged sign is pictured at the headquarters of UNRWA, following an Israeli raid, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, July 12, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo
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UNRWA Says Israel Still Preventing Aid from Reaching Northern Gaza

FILE PHOTO: A damaged sign is pictured at the headquarters of UNRWA, following an Israeli raid, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, July 12, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A damaged sign is pictured at the headquarters of UNRWA, following an Israeli raid, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, July 12, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo

Israeli authorities are still preventing humanitarian missions from reaching areas of northern Gaza with critical supplies including medicine and food for people under siege, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Monday.

Hospitals have been hit and are without power while injured people are left without care, Philippe Lazzarini said on X, Reuters reported.

"@UNRWA remaining shelters are so overcrowded, some displaced people are now forced to live in the toilets. According to reports, people attempting to flee are getting killed, their bodies left on the street. Missions to rescue people from under the rubble are also being denied," he added.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on the UNRWA statement.

Israel says it is getting large quantities of humanitarian supplies into Gaza with land deliveries, including one on Monday morning, and airdrops. It also says it has facilitated the evacuation of patients from the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

"Humanitarian agencies including @UNRWA must get access to north Gaza. Denying & weaponizing humanitarian assistance to achieve military purposes is a sign of how low the moral compass is," Lazzarini said.

He said assistance must reach everyone in need in the Palestinian enclave, including children and Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

"A ceasefire is the beginning of putting an end to this endless nightmare," he added.

Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza, especially inside Jabalia, the largest of the enclave's eight historic camps, over two weeks ago, with the declared aim of preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping.