February 1, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas has moved here.

Hadja Lahbib attends an event in Brussels, Belgium on January 23.

The Gaza offices of Belgium’s development agency, Enabel, were destroyed in what Belgian officials described as a bombing.

Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib shared photos of the leveled office building in a post on X on Thursday.

“Targeting civilian buildings is unacceptable,” Lahbib said, adding that she and Belgium’s Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez would summon the Israeli ambassador to “clarify everything.”

The agency’s primary mission is “to implement the policy priorities of Belgian governmental cooperation and to promote sustainable international development,” according to Enabel’s website.

Israel did not immediately comment on the minister’s statement.

A man walks past the United Nations Relief and Works Agency building in Gaza City in January 2023.

As the humanitarian situation in Gaza spirals, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warns it will likely have to halt its work across the Middle East by the end of February.

Nearly 20 governments have suspended $440 million in funding to the organization over allegations some of its staff were involved with Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

“If the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down our operations by the end of February – not only in Gaza, but also across the region,” the agency’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Thursday.

Catch up on other top headlines related to the war and tensions in the Middle East:

Smoke rises over buildings in Khan Yunis during Israeli bombardment on Thursday, February 1, as seen from from Rafah, in southern Gaza .

The Israeli military operation in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza is “progressing and yielding impressive results,” the country’s minister of defense said Thursday.

“We are achieving our missions in Khan Younis, and we will also reach Rafah and eliminate terror elements that threaten us,” Yoav Gallant said, according to a statement from the ministry.

There has been intense fighting in the southern city in recent days, specifically around a hospital complex where thousands of people are sheltering, according to an aid group.

The Israeli military’s operations “targeting terrorists above and under the ground, bring us closer to enabling the return of the hostages, because Hamas only responds to pressure,” Gallant said. In the past, Israel has frequently asserted that Hamas is using hospitals and other infrastructure as cover for tunnels and military operations.

More on the operations: Israeli forces have so far killed an estimated 10,000 Hamas fighters, he said. Another 10,000 have been wounded and are “not functioning,” he said. “This is a serious blow that erodes Hamas’ abilities.”

CNN is not able to independently confirm those numbers. 

Two weeks ago, the Israel Defense Forces estimated it had killed about 9,000 Hamas fighters since the start of military operations following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

There are currently no plans to target any Israeli officials with economic sanctions, the White House said Thursday after the administration announced a new executive order targeting four individuals accused of directly perpetrating violence or intimidation in the West Bank. 

“There’s no plans to target with sanctions Israeli government officials at this time,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “This was an initial set of designations; I’m not going to preview whether there will be more or not going forward, but it is a new tool that we’re going to take a look at using appropriately.” 

Axios reported Thursday that the administration had considered sanctioning some ultra-conservative Israeli government ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom have vocally advocated for the mass relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to make way for Israeli settlers. 

Ben Gvir has taken steps to arm Israeli civilians in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, and, according to The New York Times, has pledged 10,000 guns to towns and cities across Israel, including Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory. 

The US State Department announced the first round of sanctions under a new executive order targeting those perpetrating violence in the West Bank on Thursday.

The new sanctions — which block their financial assets and bar them from coming to the US — target four Israeli nationals. 

In a statement Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that “Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it.”

Here are some more specifics:

Who the order will target: The order focuses on four individuals accused of directly perpetrating violence or intimidation in the West Bank, the State Department said, including people accused of initiating and leading a riot; setting buildings, fields and vehicles on fire; assaulting civilians; and damaging property. The four individuals named are David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Shalom Zicherman and Yinon Levi.

What the order will do: The White House notified the Israeli government of its plans ahead of the order, an official said. The order will block the individuals’ property and financial transactions in the United States and prohibit Americans from funding or contributing money to them. The order is directed toward foreign nationals and not American citizens, an official said, though some dual nationals have been accused of being involved in the violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement in response to the US sanctions, saying they were not necessary.

Why this matters: President Joe Biden has faced backlash from key parts of his political coalition for his backing of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. While the order is not expected to address the situation in Gaza, it will mark one of the more significant actions he has taken to critique Israel since the war began, and it could be a signal from Biden toward Muslim and Arab-American voters who are upset with his refusal to call for a ceasefire.

Remember: Approximately 500,000 Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank, encroaching into land that Palestinians, along with the international community, view as territory for a future Palestinian state. While the areas around these settlements have always been prone to violence, the situation has worsened in recent months.

This post has been updated with the announcement of the order from the State Department and Netanyahu’s response.

The top US State Department official for the Middle East said Thursday that she is not aware of “any definitive response” from Hamas to a proposal crafted over the weekend that would see the release of hostages held by the group and a sustained pause in the fighting in Gaza. 

Hamas said that Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, received the proposal at a meeting in Paris this weekend that involved officials from Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the United States. 

“I think we’re still very much in deliberation stage,” Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said in a virtual briefing.

Leaf said the potential hostage deal is “a critical starting point” toward an end to the conflict.

Hamas said that Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, received the proposal at a meeting in Paris this weekend that involved officials from Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the United States. 

Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that the head of its political bureau “is in the process of studying (the proposal) and submitting its response to it on the basis that the priority is to stop the aggression, the brutal attack on Gaza and the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Strip.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head back to the region in the coming days as moving forward on the deal remains a top priority for President Joe Biden’s administration.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington D.C, on February 1.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that it’s time to “take away even more capability” of Iran-backed groups as a result of the deadly drone attack on a US base in Jordan last weekend. 

“(T)his particular attack was egregious … the attack was on the sleeping area of our base,” Austin said at the Pentagon. “And again, Kataib Hezbollah and other elements continue to attack our troops and, again, I think at this point we should — it’s time to take away even more capability than we have in the past.” 

The attack on Tower 22 in Jordan killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens more service members, the first time American troops were killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war. There have been more than 160 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17.

The US response against Iran-backed proxies for the attack against US forces in Jordan would be “multi-tiered,” Austin said Thursday, adding that US adversaries in the region do not have “a one-and-done mindset.”

US President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday he has made a decision about the US response but declined to provide further details.

CNN’s Michael Conte contributed to this reporting.

New video shot in the northwestern part of Gaza shows an extraordinary level of destruction in an area near the coast.

The video, shot by journalist Fadi Al-Wahidi, shows what remains of the neighborhood bisected by Al-Rashid Street, which runs northwest of the district of Beit Lahiya. It is the closest northern area to the border with Israel.

The video shows that the entire neighborhood has been leveled. There is not a single building standing. CNN is unable to geolocate the video for lack of landmarks.

Despite the devastation, people are now returning to what remains of their homes in the neighborhood, after Israeli troops withdrew from the area, Al-Wahidi told CNN.

International aid agencies say they have little access to northern Gaza and that food scarcity there has worsened. Fighting has continued there sporadically. 

Al-Wahidi, who is from nearby Jabalya, told CNN that this part of Al-Rashid Street had been resurfaced and landscaped just a few months before the war. Most of the area’s coastal resort houses have now been destroyed, the journalist added.

His visit to the area on Wednesday was the first time Al-Wahidi had seen the sea since the latest Israel-Hamas war began, he said.

US President Joe Biden plans to issue an executive order targeting violent settlers in the West Bank who, he has said, have undermined stability in the area, according to a US official.

The issue is one that Biden has personally discussed in recent months with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Politico was first to report the upcoming executive order.

What to know about settlers in West Bank: Israel has occupied the West Bank since seizing the territory from Jordanian military occupation in 1967. In the early 1990s, under the Oslo Accords peace agreements, Israel agreed to gradually transfer control over the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority, but that has not happened. Instead, dozens of Israeli settlements have been built in the West Bank, encroaching into land that Palestinians, along with the international community, view as territory for a future Palestinian state.

Approximately 500,000 Israeli Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank, according to Peace Now, an Israeli group that advocates for peace and monitors settlements. Many of these settlements are heavily guarded, fenced-off areas that are completely off limits to Palestinians.

Most of the world considers these settlements illegal under international law and Israel has been criticized for allowing their expansion – and, in some cases, supporting them with tax breaks and state-funded security. Israel views the West Bank as “disputed territory” and contends its settlement policy is legal.

The areas around these settlements have always been prone to violence, but the situation has worsened in recent months.

Watch a CNN investigation on settler violence in West Bank here.

President Joe Biden speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol in Washington D.C., on February 1.

US President Joe Biden acknowledged the fallen US service members in Jordan and the suffering of the citizens of Gaza and Israel in remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill Thursday morning, saying he understands the “pain and passion felt by so many here in America and around the world” in response to the “trauma, the destruction in Israel and Gaza.” 

“We value and pray for the lives taken and for the families left behind,” Biden said.
“For all those who are living in dire circumstances, innocent men, women and children, held hostage or under bombardment, or displaced not knowing where the next meal will come from, or if it will come at all.”  

“Not only do we pray for peace,” he continued, “we’re actively working for peace, security, dignity for the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.”

Biden said he was engaged in bringing hostages held by Hamas home “day and night,” and was also working to “ease the humanitarian crisis and to bring peace to Gaza and Israel and enduring peace with two states for two peoples.”

On the fallen service members, Biden said he had spoken with the families and would attend the dignified transfer of their bodies on Friday. 

Khan Younis in southern Gaza has been the scene of intense fighting over the past few days. On Thursday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces had left the Al-Amal hospital two days after entering the complex, but more than 180,000 people were forced to evacuate the town as it came under siege, and dozens were killed.

The siege of Gaza has killed more than 25,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. A humanitarian crisis also grips Gaza’s population as residents are grappling with severe shortages, and power is running out as fuel dwindles.

Here’s a look at some of the devastation of the war:

An Israeli tank takes position at the western entrance of the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza as Palestinians flee to safer areas further south on January 26. 

The bodies of Palestinians killed during the war are buried in a mass grave on January 30, in Rafah, Gaza. 

Palestinians look at their neighbor's damaged house following an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza, on January 27. 

After nearly 20 governments suspended $440 million in funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the colossal humanitarian needs of people in Gaza will likely get worse, the main relief agency in Gaza said.

“If the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down our operations by end of February not only in Gaza but also across the region.” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Thursday.

Remember: UNRWA also assists Palestinian refugees in other parts of the Middle East.

Several countries announced their decisions to suspend their funding to the agency after Israel accused some UNRWA staffers of involvement in the October 7 attacks. UNRWA fired several employees after the allegations and launched an investigation, promising that anyone involved in the October 7 attacks will be held accountable “including through criminal prosecution” if found to be responsible. But beyond the allegations of recent days, Israel has longstanding issues with UNRWA.

The suspension of funding has raised questions about the fate of the 5.9 million refugees that the agency serves.

The United States continues to support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and “there has been no policy shift” by the administration regarding that aim, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Wednesday after an Axios report suggested a shift.

“We have made quite clear publicly that we support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. That’s been the policy of the United States for some time. It’s been the policy of this administration. You’ve seen the Secretary speak about it publicly,” Miller said at a State Department briefing.

Miler added that the US was pursuing the development of the independent Palestinian state “with real security guarantees for Israel,” saying the Biden administration believed it was the best way to ensure peace and security for Israel, Palestinians and the wider region.

Miller noted that the State Department was looking at how to bring about an independent Palestinian state, and was assessing “any number of options” as a part of its planning to work out which would be effective and work best.

While he refused to detail the internal work, he said the US was assessing a variety of options which they will discuss with partners in the Middle East and within the US government, “but there has been no policy change,” he reiterated.

Houthi fighters stage a rally in support of the Palestinians in Sanaa, Yemen, on January 29.

A giant poster featuring Yemeni rebel leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi was hung on the ancient Walls of Constantinople in Istanbul last week, just days after his organization was designated a terror group by the United States.

“We are all Yemenis,” read the text in Turkish.

Once seen in the Middle East as a menacing Iranian proxy that wreaked havoc in the Arab world’s poorest country by overthrowing the internationally recognized government and prompting a brutal Saudi-led military intervention, the Houthi group’s fortunes have changed since Israel launched its devastating war on Gaza.

Israel’s war came after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an October 7 attack on the Jewish state, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 others, according to Israeli authorities. The war in Gaza has so far killed almost 27,000 people in the enclave, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory.

The Shiite-Muslim Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, are now seen in parts of the largely Sunni Muslim world and beyond as champions of the Palestinian cause, defending the people of Gaza against Israel and even taking on the Jewish state’s superpower ally in the fight.

Since mid-November, the rebels have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab al-Mandab. The Red Sea is a vital waterway that connects to the Suez Canal, through which 10% to 15% of world trade passes. The group’s activities have effectively closed the trade route to most container ships as vessels steer clear of the waterway amid the attacks.

Read more about why Yemen’s Houthi rebels welcome conflict with the US

Israeli forces have left the grounds of Al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza two days after entering the complex, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said Thursday.

The society also said that Israeli forces had entered its nearby headquarters for a third time.

Israeli tanks were still stationed in the street outside the society’s headquarters, spokesperson Raes Al Nims told CNN.

There are 100 patients, 7,000 displaced people, and 100 doctors and crews in Al-Amal hospital and the headquarters of the PRCS, Nims said.

He said there had been no aid delivered on Wednesday but that essential oxygen supplies arrived through the International Red Cross and the United Nations.

Al-Amal staff dealt with 18 casualties on Wednesday, including 12 killed, among the thousands of displaced people at the hospital and the headquarters, according to the PRCS.

Israel has previously said that Hamas uses hospitals and other infrastructure as a cover for tunnels and military operations.

The Israel Defense Forces say operations continue in Khan Younis as well as central Gaza, where the IDF said an aircraft had struck several Hamas fighters.

More than 100 Palestinian detainees who had been held in Israel have been released and entered Gaza early on Thursday, the Gaza Crossings Authority said.

Spokesperson Hisham Adwan said the 114 detainees, which included four women, were released through the Kerem Shalom crossing. 

CNN is reaching out to Israeli authorities for further details.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivers a speech in Bogota, Colombia, on December 15.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has proposed the creation of a peace commission to end the violence between Israelis and the Palestinians and called for the release of hostages still held in Gaza.

“I consider it a priority to move quickly towards an immediate cessation of hostilities and begin talks for the release of all the hostages,” Petro wrote in a letter dated January 29 to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Petro’s proposal comes after the Colombian president said Netanyahu wrote to him on January 11 asking for assistance in freeing the hostages. 

Netanyahu’s purported initial letter asks Petro to use “any” influence he has with Iran, Turkey, and Qatar to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages, according to the letter obtained by CNNE earlier this month and verified to CNN by Colombia’s presidency.

Netanyahu’s office has not commented on the purported letter. 

Netanyahu’s letter says both countries share a “common cause” in the release of the hostages, mentioning hostage Elkana Bohbot, an Israeli citizen married to a Colombian citizen.

 CNN has contacted the Israeli Embassy in Colombia for comment on Petro’s letter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the end of the mission of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

His comments come after Israel alleged 13 employees were associated with Hamas’ October 7 attacks. It’s the first time Netanyahu has called for an end of the mission on camera and specifically accused UNRWA officials of being complicit in the attack.

Here are our top stories on the Israel-Hamas war and tensions in the region:

The US carried out airstrikes against an Iranian-backed Houthi drone ground control station in Yemen and 10 Houthi drones early Thursday morning, the US Central Command said. 

 “U.S. forces identified the UAV ground control station and one-way attack UAVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“U.S. Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the UAV ground control station and 10 one-way attack UAVs in self-defense.”

These strikes are the latest in a series of attacks on Houthi weapons that the US military said were set to be launched against international shipping lanes and US warships in the region.

US officials believe there are signs that Iranian leadership is nervous about some of the actions of its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence, as attacks from militia groups threaten to disrupt the global economy and significantly up the risk of direct confrontation with the United States.

The drone attack that killed three American soldiers at a US outpost in Jordan, which the US has attributed to the Iran-backed umbrella group Islamic Resistance in Iraq, caught Tehran by surprise and worried political leadership there, officials told CNN, citing US intelligence.

Iran-backed militants have launched over 160 attacks on US forces since October. And while Iran has long funded, equipped, and trained its proxy militias in the region with the goal of attacking Americans, the strike from this past weekend was the first to kill US service members since the near-daily assaults began four months ago.

US intelligence also suggests that Iran is concerned that attacks from Houthi militants in Yemen on commercial shipping in the Red Sea could upset the economic interests of both China and India, key Iranian allies.

Officials cautioned that there is no sense that Tehran’s growing wariness is likely to change its broader strategy of supporting proxy attacks on US and Western targets — although it could signal adjustments around the margins. But officials do believe that Iran is pursuing a calibrated approach to the conflict that is designed to avoid sparking an all-out war.

Read the full story here.

The USS Carney shot down one Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile and three drones on Wednesday evening Yemen time, the US Central Command said.  

CENTCOM described the drones as Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). 

CNN earlier reported that the US destroyer shot down a Houthi ballistic missile and drones. 

These strikes are the latest in a series of attacks on Houthi weapons before they are launched against international shipping lanes and US warships in the region.

More context: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

The attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy.

The Houthis are believed to have been armed and trained by Iran, and there are fears that their attacks could escalate Israel’s war against Hamas into a wider regional conflict.

CNN’s Christian Edwards contributed reporting to this post.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, speaks with UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, at the State Department, on January 31.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of the United Nations’ humanitarian work inside Gaza, saying it is “absolutely vital,” while also calling again for allegations made against UN staffers in the enclave to be addressed.

In remarks alongside UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag in Washington, Blinken noted that “her mission now could not be more vital.”

“We strongly and fully support it. We’ll be working very closely with Sigrid, with Israel, with Egypt, with other concerned parties to in the first instance maximize the assistance getting in, but not only getting into Gaza, getting to people who need it within Gaza, including in the north,” he said ahead of their meeting at the State Department Wednesday.

Blinken said that the UN must “work through the terrible allegations” made against its aid agency, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The US has suspended approximately $300,000 in aid to UNRWA as the agency investigates Israeli allegations that 13 of its personnel were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks. The US is among a growing list of countries that have suspended some or all funding to the agency.

Two aid agencies are claiming they have evidence that indicates Israel carried out a strike earlier this month on a compound housing humanitarian workers and their families in a supposed safe zone in Gaza. 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said an independent assessment carried out by the United Nations concluded that the damage was caused by an airstrike most likely involving a missile package exclusively possessed by the Israeli military. 

“The Israeli military is the only armed actor in Gaza with access to this weaponry,” the statement on Wednesday said. The strike took place on January 18.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the claims. 

More context: Although officially designated as a safe zone by the IDF, Al Mawasi – a 5.22-square-mile (13.5-square-kilometer) coastal strip where the compound was located – has suffered several strikes in recent weeks, according to reports from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza and the Palestinian state news agency, WAFA. 

The two organizations reiterated that attacks against these kinds of settings violate international humanitarian law.

Despite remaining committed to serving the “humanitarian imperative,” the IRC and MAP likened the current situation in Gaza however to fighting a “losing battle.” 

CNN is unable to independently confirm these claims due to the difficulty of reporting from the war zone. 

Former Israel Security Agency chief Ami Ayalon appeared on CNN on Wednesday, January 31, during an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

Without a two-state solution framework, Hamas won’t be destroyed and “will flourish again,” according to Israel’s former security agency chief.

“We have to understand this war is on two fronts. One is the battlefield, but the other is a war of ideas and Hamas will be defeated only on the second front,” Ami Ayalon told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour during a rare interview from Haifa on Wednesday.

“The major defeat for Hamas is a future of two states. And unless we should discuss the future of two states, there is no way to defeat Hamas and to create a better political horizon for Palestinians and for Israelis,” he added. 

Ayalon went on to say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t represent the views of the majority of the Israeli people, “and unfortunately, you know, he’s leading us.”

“We shall have elections in a few months and we should find the right way to a better future,” he added. 

Ayalon said US President Joe Biden’s push for a two-state solution is perceived as strong leadership, because “he filled a vacuum of leadership in Israel.” 

He also blamed extremists on both sides of the conflict for leading the region to the current situation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called for the end of the mission of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

“I think it’s time that the international community and the UN itself understand that UNRWA’s mission has to end,” Netanyahu told a delegation of UN ambassadors.

It’s the first time Netanyahu has called for an end of the mission on camera and specifically accused UNRWA officials of being complicit in the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.

Netanyahu also addressed genocide accusations brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice, saying many of the charges at the UN’s top court were brought by UNRWA officials.  

“The worst thing that I can say is this: That many of the charges are false and unfounded, that were leveled against us in The Hague, were brought by UNRWA officials. And we have discovered in the last few weeks that UNRWA officials were complicit in the massacre,” he said. 

“We need to get other UN agencies and other aid agencies replacing UNRWA if we’re going to solve the problem of Gaza, as we intend to do,” the prime minister added.