Doctors Without Borders closes its last facility in north Gaza, and other news.
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Doctors Without Borders temporarily closed its last health facility in north Gaza after the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for parts of Gaza City and the area came under heavy fire, the organization said on Wednesday evening. It said the evacuation orders and destruction of health facilities had left people in northern Gaza with very few options for health care. The Israeli military on Wednesday urged Palestinians across Gaza City to evacuate to the south, saying the city would “remain a dangerous combat zone.”
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Israel has urged the U.N. agency in charge of aid for Palestinians to fire 100 of its workers whom Israeli officials accuse of being affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the request in a July 4 letter to Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency, known as UNRWA. The letter listed the names and identification numbers of the workers and said the list might be expanded soon. UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza and runs schools, clinics and social services offices.
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The top White House official for Middle East affairs met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Israel on Wednesday. In a statement, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said he and the official, Brett McGurk, held discussions about negotiations on a cease-fire and hostage release deal, during which the Israeli leader said he was committed to the process “as long as Israel’s red lines are preserved.” Mr. Netanyahu has long insisted that the war in Gaza must continue until Israel has destroyed Hamas’s military and governing abilities. Mr. Gallant said that in his meeting with Mr. McGurk he had stressed the need for security guarantees along the border between Gaza and Egypt that would cut off Hamas’s ability to rearm itself through smuggling.
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Houthi forces in Yemen appear to have resumed attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea after pausing strikes for more than a week, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military agency. On Wednesday, the agency said it had received a report of an explosion close to a vessel about 45 miles south of the coast of Yemen, the second attack in two days. Before that, the last reported attack in the region had been on June 27. The Houthis, an Iran-backed militia, have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November to support Hamas in its war against Israel. The group did not immediately claim responsibility for the recent incidents. The U.S. Central Command said on social media on Wednesday that its forces had destroyed two Houthi aerial drones and a drone boat that “presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region.”