Erdogan says UNRWA to open office in Turkey, calls for more support for agency

ANKARA, June 21 (Reuters) - The United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA will open an office in Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, urging Muslim countries to give the agency more support after Israel banned it.
Israel last year banned UNRWA, saying it had employed members of Palestinian militant group Hamas who took part in the October 2023 attacks on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
Turkey has called Israel's assault on Gaza genocide and its move to ban UNRWA a violation of international law, particularly amid worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, which has been reduced to rubble with millions displaced.
Addressing foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Erdogan said opening an Ankara UNRWA office would deepen Turkey's support for the agency.
"We must not allow UNRWA, which plays an irreplaceable role in terms of taking care of Palestinian refugees, to be paralysed by Israel. We expect our organisation and each member state to provide financial and moral support to UNRWA to thwart Israel's games," Erdogan said.
A Turkish diplomatic source said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini were expected to sign an accord on the sidelines of the OIC meeting in Istanbul on establishing the office.
Turkey has given UNRWA $10 million a year between 2023 and 2025. In 2024, it also transferred $2 million and sent another $3 million from its AFAD disaster management authority.
Israel has handed responsibility for distributing much of the aid it lets into Gaza to a new U.S.-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates three sites in areas guarded by Israeli troops. The U.N. has rejected the GHF operation saying its distribution work is inadequate, dangerous and violates humanitarian impartiality principles.
Previously, aid to Gaza's 2.3 million residents had been distributed mainly by U.N. agencies such as UNRWA with thousands of staff at hundreds of sites across the enclave.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Reuters

28 minutes ago

• Reuters

Airlines keep avoiding Middle East airspace after US attack on Iran

June 22 (Reuters) - Airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East on Sunday after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, with traffic already skirting airspace in the region due to recent missile exchanges. "Following US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, commercial traffic in the region is operating as it has since new airspace restrictions were put into place last week," FlightRadar24 said on social media platform X. Its website showed airlines were not flying in the airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel. They have chosen other routings such as north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, even if it results in higher fuel and crew costs and longer flight times. Missile and drone barrages in an expanding number of conflict zones globally represent a high risk to airline traffic. Since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, carriers have suspended flights to destinations in the affected countries, though there have been some evacuation flights from neighbouring nations and some bringing stranded Israelis home. Japan's foreign ministry said on Sunday it had evacuated 21 people, including 16 Japanese nationals, from Iran overland to Azerbaijan. It said it was the second such evacuation since Thursday and that it would conduct further evacuations if necessary. New Zealand's government said on Sunday it would send a Hercules military transport plane to the Middle East on standby to evacuate New Zealanders from the region. It said in a statement that government personnel and a C-130J Hercules aircraft would leave Auckland on Monday. The plane would take some days to reach the region, it said. The government was also in talks with commercial airlines to assess how they may be able to assist, it added.

The Independent

34 minutes ago

• The Independent

Trump bombs Iranian nuclear facilities in major escalation. What happens next?

President Donald Trump has claimed to have ' completely, totally obliterated ' Iran's nuclear program in a series of missile strikes and bombings, marking explicit U.S. intervention into Israel's war that risks a wider international crisis. The true extent of the damage is unclear. Retaliatory strikes are expected, as are efforts to revive already-fractured negotiations and diplomatic efforts to lower temperatures. But the United States is now embroiled in a war between two well-armed nations that could spill out far beyond their borders with untold casualties, experts have warned. 'Remember, there are many targets left,' Trump said in a brief address to the nation on June 21, roughly two hours after announcing a 'very successful' series of strikes on nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. 'If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.' The world is watching to see what will happen, as experts and analysts consider how current conditions, history and a volatile political environment could inform what's next. A 'dangerous escalation' Trump had campaigned on a promise to end all wars, including Israel's war in Gaza and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, yet the president has so far failed to negotiate an end to either. Israel sought American military support for its campaign against Iran after receiving virtual permission for its devastating war in Gaza in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks — 'undermining Trump's claim to be a peacemaker and his assertion that wars would never have started under his leadership,' according to Brookings Institution senior fellow Sharan Grewal at the Center for Middle East Policy. He now risks exploding a wider crisis across the Middle East that could endanger U.S. installations abroad and embolden Iran's allies to retaliate, following a legacy of U.S. intervention and destabilization in the Middle East dovetailing with U.S. support for Israel's ongoing devastation in Gaza and in occupied territories. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said late Saturday that he was 'gravely alarmed' by Trump's decision to bomb Iran, calling it 'a dangerous escalation' and 'a direct threat to international peace and security.' 'There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,' he said. Iran could also retaliate by blocking the strategically important Strait of Hormuz or attacking the energy infrastructure of the Arab Gulf — dramatically driving up global oil prices. Within hours after Saturday's attacks, roughly 50 oil tankers were seen scrambling to leave the Strait of Hormuz. Iran-backed Houthis have warned that Trump 'must bear the consequences,' Houthi political bureau member Hizam al-Assad posted on X. The Houthi-controlled Yemeni Armed Forces also said the group was prepared to target U.S. Navy warships in the Red Sea 'in the event that the American enemy launches an aggression in support' of Israel. Houthi rebels had previously attacked ships linked to Israel's war in Gaza, and the United States retaliated with a series of airstrikes in Yemen earlier this year. Hardening Iran's resolve — or doing enough damage to force negotiations? Iranian officials have stressed for years that its nuclear programs are for civilian and peaceful purposes only, but Israel has claimed that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, a claim central to the long and now accelerating conflict between the two nations. Following Saturday's bombings, Iran's atomic agency vowed 'never' to stop its nuclear program, according to Iranian media. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said the three targeted nuclear sites came under 'savage assault,' seen as 'blatant violation of international law, particularly the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.' The agency also accused the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog of 'complicity' in the effort as it urged the international community to condemn the strikes and 'never allow the progress of this national industry … to be halted.' Aerial bombardment alone would not be enough to conclusively stop any nuclear ambitions because 'neither Israel nor the U.S. can kill all the nuclear scientists,' former U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker told Politico. Targeted strikes that significantly damage operations could convince Iran to negotiate, according to former U.S. special envoy Dennis Ross. But a wider assault — fueled by demands from Israeli officials and Iran hawks in the United States — could be seen by Iran as seeing that 'they have little to lose and their best bet is to show they can make us pay a heavy price,' he told Politico. When Israel struck nuclear programs in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007, 'the long-term results were diametrically different,' according to Mara Karlin, former assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities under Joe Biden. 'Tehran could conceivably choose either path,' she said. 'And, as long as the uranium enrichment complex at Fordow remains largely intact, it does not need to decide.' Blowback in Washington — and across America Trump's attacks risk deepening a growing divide between his allies and anti-interventionist Republicans now tenuously aligned with a wider anti-war movement and the majority of Americans who do not want the United States involved with Israel's campaign at all. Several members of Congress have questioned whether the president's actions are even legal, amounting to an unconstitutional attempt to escape congressional authorization. At least two congressional Republicans — Rep. Warren Davidson and Thomas Massie — joined Democrats to immediately condemn the bombings as unconstitutional. 'The only entity that can take this country to war is the U.S. Congress,' Sen. Bernie Sanders said in remarks in Oklahoma as the crowd learned about the bombings in real time. 'The president does not have the right.' 'The President's disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,' said Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 'He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations.' The New York congresswoman said the attack is 'clearly grounds for impeachment.' Top Democrats on congressional intelligence committees were also not briefed in advance of the attacks. 'The American public is overwhelmingly opposed to the U.S. waging war on Iran,' said Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who has urged Congress to pass legislation that would require Trump to go to Congress before attacking Iran. He noted that Israeli officials said its bombs have already set Iran's nuclear capability back by two to three years. 'So what made Trump recklessly decide to rush and bomb today?' he said. 'Horrible judgment. I will push for all Senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war.' While Trump touts what he claims are unequivocal military successes, he has also spent his first few months in office developing plans to crush dissent domestically. The deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to respond to protests against his anti-immigration agenda could be seen as a 'dress rehearsal' for far more expansive emergency powers to impose federal control of America's cities, according to The Atlantic 's David Frum. More demonstrations against further military action in Iran are expected, adding to a steady rhythm of protests and unrest against the Trump administration that exploded across American streets in recent weeks.

Daily Mail​

an hour ago

• Daily Mail​

Trump's right-hand MAGA ally who correctly predicted Iran strikes now has a chilling warning about World War III

Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon who was spot-on with his prediction that the president would strike Iran on Saturday is now warning that it could spark World War III. Bannon, who served as Trump's chief White House strategist during his first term and continues to be an influential voice in the MAGA movement, referenced the looming attack on his 'War Room Pandemic' podcast hours before U.S. bombers carried out the strike. 'I'm just reporting what I'm hearing from pretty good sources. The party is on,' Bannon said on his podcast. 'So another big weekend in this unfolding aspect of the Third World War – and no, anyone that's telling you that the Third World War is not here, is absolutely, does not understand the development and evolution of kinetic energy,' he said. Hours later, Trump surprised the world a little before 8 p.m. ET Saturday by announcing on Truth Social that he had given the go-ahead to attack Iran. Trump used six massive 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs and 30 Tomahawk missiles to destroy Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. Trump addressed the nation, calling the strikes on a trio of Iranian nuclear sites a 'spectacular military success.' 'Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.' He also gave a stark warning to Tehran that more attacks would be coming if the regime didn't make peace. But his ally Bannon lunched with Trump at the White House on Thursday, and reportedly argued against the U.S. joining in Israel 's attacks on Iran. Bannon connected the dots on his 'party is on' comment, clarifying that it meant the operation was set to go. 'I will tell you, remember in 'A Bridge Too Far,' in the movie about Market Garden and the last bridge at Arnhem. The phrase there was, "The party is on,"' he said, referencing the 1977 film about the failed Allied operation in Europe near the end of World War II. He also took a swipe at former George W. Bush White House Press Secretary Kayleith McEnany, now a host of 'the Five' on Fox News Channel. 'And so that is our analysis this morning. Is the party on? Is this thing, are we inexorably drawn into this, and maybe today's the day of action? You know, just the one swoop of a jet that Keyleigh McEnany wants, just one swoop of a jet, just going across,' he said. His comments came before a top House Republican turned on Trump and called the U.S. attack on Iran 'unconstitutional.' Bannon spent time on his Saturday show arguing about the risks and losses associated with an attack on Iran. He said the country needed to remain 'focused on the mass deportations' of illegal immigrants. 'I still argue that as important as this as high a priority it is to stop the nuclear program at whatever stage it is for the Iranians, for us yo've got to rank order of strategic concerns. The vital national security interests of this country lie with us making sure that the 10-12 million illegal alien invaders that came here ... have to be deported,' he said. 'This is a central front of what we call the third World War.' 'This is all costing a vast amount of money. Who's paying for that?' he asked. 'Is Israel paying for that? No, they would not be ... You know who's paying for it? You,' he told his listeners.