US calls for urgent probe into Israeli attack on UN aid facility

THE White House called for a swift investigation into an Israeli air raid on a UN food distribution facility in Gaza.

On Wednesday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said one staff member was killed in the attack and 22 others were wounded. Gaza health officials said the attack killed four other people.

Israel said the attack killed a Hamas commander that it targeted.

The US has also issued sanctions on three Israeli settlers and two Israeli settler outposts in the occupied West Bank.

According to the Treasury Department’s website, Moshes Farm, the Tirza Valley farm outpost, and the Zvis farm were the two outposts added to the list. On X, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says that this move demonstrates “our commitment to peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike”.

This is only the latest round of sanctions against Israeli settlers, with the previous one

The US has also issued sanctions on three Israeli settlers and two Israeli settler outposts in the occupied West Bank.

coming early last month.

Meanwhile, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said it would be a “grave mistake” for Israel to reject a two-state solution.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer urged negotiators to do everything possible to secure a ceasefire, release hostages and get aid into Gaza.

Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials have repeatedly said they oppose an independent Palestinian state, saying the country needs full security control over the occupied Palestinian territory, rebuffing Biden’s stance on the issu e.

The European Parliament has voted a resolution denouncing “the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the risk of imminent starvation”, it said in a statement.