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US Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing UN Agency of Aiding Hamas Attack on Israel

FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
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US Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing UN Agency of Aiding Hamas Attack on Israel

FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa

A US judge dismissed a lawsuit by dozens of Israelis who accused the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees of funneling more than $1 billion that aided Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
US District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had "absolute immunity" from the lawsuit because it is a subsidiary of the United Nations, which has immunity from such lawsuits.
In her decision made public on Wednesday, Torres also rejected an argument that UNRWA was merely a "specialized agency" not entitled to immunity.
She cited UN lawyers who said subsidiaries such as UNRWA that have considerable autonomy are not "completely independent" because their parent entities can change their structures or close them.
Gavriel Mairone, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said on Friday his clients plan to appeal.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini and several current and former agency officials were also defendants. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hamas' attack on Israel killed about 1,200 people.
The plaintiffs included more than 100 people who survived the attack or had relatives who were killed.
They accused UNRWA of spending more than a decade helping Hamas build "terror infrastructure," including by funneling the $1 billion from a Manhattan bank account.
Several countries including the US halted UNRWA funding after Israel alleged that staff members were involved in the attack.
The Biden administration said last October the lawsuit should be dismissed because UNRWA deserved immunity.
On April 24, the Trump administration reversed that position, and said the defendants "must answer these allegations in American courts."
Both administrations said Hamas committed "atrocious" crimes.
Established in 1949, UNRWA provides schooling, healthcare and humanitarian aid in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It is funded almost entirely by UN member states.
The case is Estate of Kedem et al v United Nations Relief and Works Agency et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-04765.

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World

Half of Ukraine’s Capital in the Dark After Russian Strikes, Ministry Says

People use a flashlight as they walk during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent a Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
People use a flashlight as they walk during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent a Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
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Half of Ukraine’s Capital in the Dark After Russian Strikes, Ministry Says

People use a flashlight as they walk during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent a Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 8, 2025. (Reuters)
People use a flashlight as they walk during a power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent a Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 8, 2025. (Reuters)

Power was out for roughly half of residents in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Tuesday after the latest Russian attacks on the country's energy system, the energy ministry said.

"The situation in Kyiv remains one of the most difficult – currently, up to 50% of consumers in the capital are without electricity," the ministry said on Telegram.

Russia has sharply increased both the number and intensity of attacks on Ukrainian gas and energy infrastructure in recent months, targeting both power generation facilities and electricity transmission systems.

Ukraine operates three nuclear power plants, which produce more than 50% of all electricity, but the plants are forced to reduce production due to damage to power lines.

The energy shortage is forcing power grid operator Ukrenergo to restrict supplies to consumers, plunging entire regions into darkness. Power cuts also affect heat and water supplies.

Residents of Kyiv and the Kyiv region have been getting electricity for only about 10 hours out of 24 over the past week.

World

Germany Plans Production of Advanced Taurus Missiles from 2029

A man pauses on a pedestrian bridge as a German flag flies over the Reichstag building in Berlin on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A man pauses on a pedestrian bridge as a German flag flies over the Reichstag building in Berlin on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Germany Plans Production of Advanced Taurus Missiles from 2029

A man pauses on a pedestrian bridge as a German flag flies over the Reichstag building in Berlin on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A man pauses on a pedestrian bridge as a German flag flies over the Reichstag building in Berlin on October 23, 2024. (AFP)

Germany plans to begin production of an upgraded version of its Taurus cruise missile in 2029, according to a budget proposal seen by Reuters on Tuesday, which is expected to be approved by parliament next week.

German forces currently have some 600 Taurus missiles with an official range of more than 500 km (311 miles) in their inventories, to be launched from fighter jets such as the Tornado, the F-15 or the F-18.

The weapon, built by European defence company MBDA , is designed to destroy high-value targets behind enemy lines such as command bunkers, ammunition and fuel dumps, airfields and bridges.

The German government has repeatedly denied requests by Ukraine to supply it with Taurus cruise missiles amid concerns over their long range and their potential use against targets inside Russia, according to Reuters.

The upgraded Taurus NEO missile, as outlined in the 415-million-euro ($483 million) budget proposal which is classified as confidential, will feature an extended range, improved shielding against interference, and advancements in navigation and seeker head technology.

Sweden's Saab and US-based Williams International are identified as the main subcontractors for the enhanced missile.

At a later stage, Sweden and Spain may join the contract, the document said.

According to previous information, Germany aims to purchase some 600 Taurus NEO for around 2 billion euros in total.

The Kremlin has told Germany that delivering cruise missiles to Kyiv would lead to a further round of "spiralling tension" in the Ukraine conflict.

World

Putin Does Not Want to Restore the USSR or Attack NATO, the Kremlin Says 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with members of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 8, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with members of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 8, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
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Putin Does Not Want to Restore the USSR or Attack NATO, the Kremlin Says 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with members of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 8, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with members of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 8, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that European claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to restore the Soviet Union were wrong and that claims Putin plans to invade a NATO member were complete stupidity.

Putin, who was born in the Soviet Union, in 2005 cast the collapse of the Soviet Union as the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century because tens of millions of Russians were impoverished and Russia itself faced the threat of disintegration.

Opponents say Putin's Russia is decaying in a potent brew of absurdity and repression that is comparable to the Leonid Brezhnev-era of the Soviet Union. Western leaders say that Putin, if he wins in Ukraine, will one day attack NATO.

Putin has repeatedly denied that he has any plans to attack NATO and has said that such a step would be foolish for Russia given the conventional military superiority of NATO over Russia.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Putin wanted to bring the "old Soviet Union" back and that Europe had to defend itself against what he said were clear Russian intentions, set out, he said, in Russian state doctrines, to attack NATO.

"This is not true," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about Merz's remarks. "Vladimir Putin does not want to restore the USSR because it is impossible, and he himself has repeatedly said this."

"To talk about it is not respectful to our partners," Peskov said. "Apparently, Mr. Merz does not know this."

"As for preparing for an attack on NATO, this is complete stupidity," Peskov said.