UNRWA: Gaza Hostilities Continue Despite Israeli Announcement

FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)
FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)
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UNRWA: Gaza Hostilities Continue Despite Israeli Announcement

FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)
FILE - Palestinians inspect the damage of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Jabaliya refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Abdul Qader Sabbah, File)

Hostilities continue in Rafah and southern Gaza despite the Israeli military's announcement on Sunday of tactical pauses in operations to allow humanitarian aid to enter, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told reporters in Oslo on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized plans announced by the military to hold daily pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into the Palestinian enclave.

The pause is aimed at allowing aid trucks to reach the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for incoming aid, and travel safely to the Salah a-Din highway, a main north-south road, to deliver supplies to other parts of Gaza, the military said. It said the pause was being coordinated with the UN and international aid agencies.



Netanyahu: Nasrallah's Death Will Change Balance of Power in Region

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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Netanyahu: Nasrallah's Death Will Change Balance of Power in Region

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was a historical turning point that could change the balance of power in the Middle East though he warned of “challenging days” ahead.

"Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was the terrorist," Netanyahu said in a statement, in his first public remarks since Nasrallah's killing in airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday.

Netanyahu said the killings of top Hezbollah commanders was not enough and he decided Nasrallah also needed to be killed.

He blamed Nasrallah for being “the architect” of a plan to “annihilate” Israel.

"Nasrallah's killing was a necessary step toward achieving the goals we have set, returning residents of the north safely to their homes and changing the balance of power in the region for years to come," Netanyahu said.