The Latest | UN tells Israel it will pause aid work in Gaza without better safety, UN officials say

Senior U.N. officials have told Israel they will suspend aid operations across Gaza unless urgent steps are taken to better protect humanitarian workers from Israeli strikes and to curb growing lawlessness hindering aid efforts, two U.N. officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations with Israeli officials.

The Israeli army declined to comment Tuesday on the U.N. ultimatum, and the Defense Ministry did not return requests for comment. Israel has acknowledged some military strikes on humanitarian workers, including an April attack that killed seven workers with the World Central Kitchen, and denied allegations of others. Israel says any such strikes are mistakes.

International criticism is growing over Israel’s campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip as Palestinians face severe and widespread hunger. The eight-month war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and basic goods to Gaza, and people there are now totally dependent on aid. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.

Earlier Tuesday, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

The conscription decision comes as Israel and Hamas appear to moving farther apart on a cease-fire deal, and Israeli leaders are increasingly signaling that a war with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah could be next.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.

Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,600 people in Gaza, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

Currently:

— Israel's Supreme Court says ultra-Orthodox must serve in the military.

— Netanyahu says he won’t agree to a deal that ends the war in Gaza, testing the latest truce proposal.

— Experts say Gaza is at high risk of famine despite increased aid to the north.

— Iranian presidential candidates debate foreign policy ahead of Friday vote.

— A WHO official says the U.S.-built pier in Gaza not sufficient in delivering aid to Palestinians.

— Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Here’s the latest:

World Food Program economist pleads for action to help Gaza's dire food crisis

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. food agency’s chief economist says designations about whether there's a famine in Gaza miss the point, because the situation is dire with nearly all 2.3 million Palestinians facing acute hunger.

The world needs to take action now, said Arif Husain of the World Food Program, citing the example of Somalia's massive famine in 2011 where 250,000 people died.

“Half of those people died before famine was declared,” Husain said.

He stressed to reporters Tuesday that averting famine requires more than food — it requires clean water, sanitation, health care and medicine on a sustained basis.

He was commenting on the new report by the global famine warning network that says the entire Gaza Strip faces “a high and sustained risk of famine” as long as the Israel-Hamas war continues and humanitarian access is restricted.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification says current available evidence doesn’t indicate famine is occurring, but about 96% of Gaza’s population face acute food insecurity with around 495,000 Palestinians facing “catastrophic levels through September.”

Husain said the threat of famine in northern Gaza was averted because aid was able to get in, including commercial deliveries. But there is now concern in the south where Israeli military operations are taking place and the main Rafah crossing from Egypt is closed, he said.

He said if the U.N. and aid organizations have access to places where it’s needed, “we can improve this situation, but if we don’t have access, then it is not possible.”

UN confirms it urged Israel to better protect aid operations, but ‘will not turn its back on the people of Gaza’

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations is confirming that it urged Israel to protect humanitarian staff and facilitate aid deliveries in Gaza but said it “will not turn its back on the people of Gaza.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric gave the response in a briefing with reporters Tuesday. The same day, two different U.N. officials said senior U.N. officials have warned Israel that they will suspend the world body’s aid operations across Gaza unless Israel acts urgently to better protect humanitarian workers. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations with Israeli officials

Dujarric confirmed that the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the Mideast, Muhannad Hadi, sent a letter to COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees aid distribution in Gaza, on June 17 and further contacts took place Monday between U.N. security chief Giles Michaud and COGAT officials.

U.N. and other aid officials have complained for months that they have no way to communicate quickly and directly with Israeli forces on the ground, in contrast with the usual procedures — known as “deconfliction” — employed in conflict zones globally to protect aid workers from attack by combatants.

Dujarric was asked whether there was any response from Israel and replied, “If there had been a great improvement in the situation, I think you would know it.”

At the Security Council’s monthly Mideast meeting Tuesday, Israel again blamed the United Nations for not delivering aid in Gaza. Dujarric responded saying the risks to humanitarian staff from picking up aid at crossings from Israel “are unacceptable.”

“To blame those who are trying to help, who are there in Gaza without guns, without real security, to me is a bit far-fetched,” he said.

Dujarric was pressed several times on whether the U.N. would shut down its operations if conditions weren’t improved, and what effect that would have on Gaza.

“I’m not talking about suspending operations,” Dujarric replied at one point. “What I’m saying is that every day we assess the situation, how best to move forward.”

U.S. military says aid brought by sea is piling up on Gaza beach

WASHINGTON — More than 6,800 metric tons, or 15 million pounds, of food and aid has flowed through the U.S. military-built pier in Gaza. However, the U.S. says very little of it has left the storage area and is stacking up on the beach due to security concerns among the aid agencies who deliver it throughout Gaza.

The United Nations wants Israel to do more to safeguard aid operations from strikes by its forces and to curb growing lawlessness hindering humanitarian workers.

On Tuesday when asked whether the military would suspend deliveries if the storage area ran out of space, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said “certainly we’ve got to take into account the capacity of the marshalling area.”

Ryder said there’s still room left for now, and the military is in communication with the U.N. World Food Program.

U.N. officials say the world body will stop delivering aid throughout Gaza if communications and protections for delivery workers do not improve.

4 United Nations contractors in south Lebanon wounded by gunfire, source of fire not immediately clear

BEIRUT — A spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in south Lebanon along the border with Israel says three of their contractors were wounded Tuesday when gunfire hit their vehicle.

“Fortunately, there were no serious injuries,” said Kandice Ardiel, deputy spokesperson for the force known as UNIFIL.

Asked if the fire came from the Israeli side, Ardiel said: “At this point, we can’t determine the origin.”

She said the contractors were returning home from UNIFIL’s Sector West headquarters in the village of Chama when their vehicle was hit by gunfire. Chama is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the border with Israel.

Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly every day since the war in Gaza began in October.

“We reiterate our condemnation of any attack on civilians, or any action that puts civilian lives in danger,” Ardiel said, adding that this includes locals who still live in their villages and provide essential services to support peacekeepers in their work. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 400 people in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah and other militants, but also over 80 civilians and non-combatants. In northern Israel, 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed by strikes launched from Lebanon.

“We have already seen too many injuries and deaths as a result of the exchanges of fire,” Ardiel said. She added that UNIFIL urges all actors involved in the conflict to cease their fire and work toward a diplomatic solution to bring the violence to an end.

UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country’s south for the first time in decades.

Hamas says Israeli airstrike in Gaza kills sister of its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who lives abroad

CAIRO — Hamas says an Israeli airstrike in Gaza has killed the sister of its top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who is based abroad.

In a brief statement, the group said Zahr Haniyeh was killed in a strike Tuesday in Shati, a built-up refugee camp in Gaza City dating back to 1948.

Palestinian media reported that over a dozen members of Haniyeh’s extended family were killed in the strike. Gaza’s Health Ministry, which tracks Palestinian casualties from the war, has not said how many people were killed in the strike.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif are the top two Hamas leaders in Gaza and the apparent masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack. They are believed to be alive, possibly in the group’s massive labyrinth of tunnels.

Israeli airstrikes killed three of Haniyeh’s sons and four of his grandchildren in April. Israel said the three sons were Hamas operatives.

Later Tuesday, Haniyeh said Israel is wrong if it thinks that, by targeting his family members, Hamas will change its stance.

Regarding a cease-fire deal, he said Hamas expressed “full flexibility” and accepted all initiatives — on condition that these end the war and lead to a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

His statement said Hamas will continue to reject any deal that does not include an end to the war and “our stance will not change during any period.” Haniyeh said that all post-war plans should be an entirely Palestinian decision and “no one else has the right to interfere.”

Haniyeh is based in Qatar, which has long served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas. Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas’ leaders wherever they are.

US defense secretary stresses need for Israel to avoid opening a second front with Hezbollah

WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pressed the need for Israel to avoid opening a second front against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as he met with Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon Tuesday.

“Another war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily become a regional war, with terrible consequences for the Middle East, and so diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent more escalation,” Austin said.

Gallant, in response, said in his remarks at the top of the meeting that “We are working closely together to achieve an agreement but we must also discuss readiness on every possible scenario.”

Iranian-backed Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack that triggered the war in Gaza. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly every day since then, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border. The fighting has escalated in recent weeks, raising fears of a full-blown war.

Gallant is visiting Washington this week to speak with U.S. officials, and met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.

UN tells Israel it will suspend aid operations across Gaza without urgent steps to improve safety, UN officials say

WASHINGTON — Senior U.N. officials have told Israel they will suspend aid operations across Gaza unless urgent steps are taken to better protect humanitarian workers, two U.N. officials say.

A U.N. letter sent to senior Israeli officials this month said Israel must provide U.N. workers with direct communication with Israeli forces on the ground in Gaza, among other steps, the officials said.

They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations with Israeli officials. The U.N. officials say there has been no final decision on suspending operations across Gaza and that talks with Israelis were ongoing.

The U.N. World Food Program has already suspended aid delivery from a U.S.-built pier in Gaza over security concerns.

The Israeli army declined to comment on the U.N. warning, and the Defense Ministry did not return requests for comment.