US Moves Towards Opening its Consulate in Jerusalem

A Gazan displaced family in a UNRWA school after the destruction of their house during the recent Israeli raids (AFP)
A Gazan displaced family in a UNRWA school after the destruction of their house during the recent Israeli raids (AFP)
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US Moves Towards Opening its Consulate in Jerusalem

A Gazan displaced family in a UNRWA school after the destruction of their house during the recent Israeli raids (AFP)
A Gazan displaced family in a UNRWA school after the destruction of their house during the recent Israeli raids (AFP)

The United States confirmed that it is moving forward with reopening its consulate in Jerusalem, without specifying a date.

“I don’t have a timetable to offer you at this time, but it is something that we are working on, as we have discussed, with our Israeli and Palestinian partners, both when we were in Israel the other week and in continued discussion since," State Department spokesman Ned Price announced in a press briefing.

Price described the vaccine agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority as a “bilateral arrangement.”

“What we would say is that we encourage them – both parties, the Israelis and the Palestinians – to do whatever they can to maximize vaccinations of Israelis and Palestinians.”

Price indicated that this matter is within US national interests, knowing that as long as COVID-19 is uncontrolled anywhere, it is a threat to people everywhere, “including Americans at home, but also knowing that it’s just simply the right thing to do.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is launching a $164 million humanitarian and early recovery appeal following the hostilities in the Gaza Strip last month.

UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced that this updated appeal incorporates the immediate emergency response actions implemented by UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank between May10 and 31, as well as early recovery needs of Palestine refugees in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, until December 31.

It supersedes the initial $38m Flash Appeal that was issued on May 19.

The appeal outlines the need for emergency shelter repairs, humanitarian assistance to displaced families, and emergency repairs and maintenance of UNRWA installations.

Also, funds will be required to temporarily subsidize rental payments for those Palestine refugee families whose shelters have been completely destroyed or damaged in the form of Transitional Shelter Cash Assistance.

UNRWA reported that airstrikes have caused substantial damage to physical infrastructure, including homes and UNRWA installations and water and sanitation networks in refugee camps.

UNRWA installations that served as designated emergency shelters also suffered damage with up to 71,000 people seeking shelter at the height of the conflict.

An estimated 7,500 Palestinian refugees remain displaced, of whom 7,150 individuals are sheltering with relatives and friends, and approximately 350 individuals remain in two UNRWA schools in Jabalia and Beach Camp.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini asserted that the impact of this conflict on Palestine refugees, like that of the three preceding rounds of violence, has been devastating.

“The trauma suffered by Gaza’s population, including some 1.4 million Palestine refugees, will continue to reverberate for a long time,” he added.

Lazzarini concluded that UNRWA is on the ground in Gaza ready to press on with the massive recovery efforts in a timely, efficient and secure manner.

“But we rely on the generous support of our partners to implement all the necessary reconstruction, humanitarian assistance, and protection projects outlined in this urgent appeal.”



UN Human Rights Office: 798 People Killed while Receiving Aid in Gaza

Palestinians carry containers for water at a camp for the displaced in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians carry containers for water at a camp for the displaced in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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UN Human Rights Office: 798 People Killed while Receiving Aid in Gaza

Palestinians carry containers for water at a camp for the displaced in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians carry containers for water at a camp for the displaced in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The UN human rights office said on Friday that it had recorded at least 798 killings both at aid points run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief groups, including the UN.

The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says had let militants divert aid.

The United Nations has called the plan "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules.

"Up until the seventh of July, we've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys," OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva, according to Reuters.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May and has repeatedly denied that incidents had occurred at its sites.