UN agencies will continue providing aid to Gaza despite Israel's ban: officials

United Nations agencies will continue providing aid to Gaza despite Israel's ban, UN representatives said on Friday.

On Thursday, Israel banned the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating, despite heavy diplomatic backlash.

Juliette Touma, UNRWA's director of communications, said the agency will continue providing medical, educational, and other essential services across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"Our teams continue to serve, even though they themselves in Gaza as an example, they themselves are impacted; they themselves have been forced to flee their homes. But they continue to serve, and we are committed as UNRWA to stay and deliver across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). That includes the Gaza Strip, it includes the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Full implementation of the Knesset laws across the OPT seeking to prevent UNRWA from delivering services will have catastrophic consequences on the lives and futures of Palestine refugees," she said.

UNRWA has not received any official communication from Israeli authorities on how they plan to implement the parliamentary ban, according to Touma.

The World Food Programme has announced plans to establish more aid distribution points in northern Gaza, where it has resumed food parcel distributions with UNRWA since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, reaching 350,000 people.

Gaza is facing a severe medical crisis, with only 18 out of 36 hospitals partially functional, and an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 people require medical evacuation, according to Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Since Monday, approximately 500,000 displaced Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza via Al-Rashid and Salah Al-Din roads, the Hamas-run media office said on Wednesday.

Israel began allowing displaced people to return to the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday, following a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that put a pause on 15 months of fighting.

Britain, France, and Germany on Friday expressed their "grave concern" over the implementation of legislation against UNRWA.

In a joint statement published on the official website of the British government, the foreign ministers of the three countries called on Israel to abide by its international obligations and emphasized that "no other entity or UN agency currently has the capacity or infrastructure to replace UNRWA's mandate and experience."

UN agencies will continue providing aid to Gaza despite Israel's ban: officials

UN agencies will continue providing aid to Gaza despite Israel's ban: officials

UN agencies will continue providing aid to Gaza despite Israel's ban: officials

UN agencies will continue providing aid to Gaza despite Israel's ban: officials

UN agencies will continue providing aid to Gaza despite Israel's ban: officials

UN agencies will continue providing aid to Gaza despite Israel's ban: officials

Mexico will unveil retaliatory tariffs against the United States on Sunday, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Tuesday, condemning the U.S. tariff hike as "unjustified."

Sheinbaum, who had called for "temperance, serenity and patience" ahead of the tariff enforcement, reaffirmed that Mexico would not tolerate subordination or foreign intervention. She also accused Washington of violating the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and rejected White House claims linking her government to organized crime, calling them "offensive and baseless."

The 25-percent U.S. tariffs, which took effect at midnight between Monday and Tuesday, have already impacted Mexico's financial markets. The Mexican peso depreciated nearly 1 percent on Tuesday, reaching 20.90 per U.S. dollar in interbank trading. Analysts attribute the decline to concerns over escalating trade tensions, warning that further U.S. tariff hikes could follow.

With roughly 80 percent of Mexico's exports heading to the United States, analysts warn that the dispute poses significant challenges for both economies.

Despite the ongoing tensions, Sheinbaum emphasized that Mexico remains open to dialogue while preparing countermeasures to safeguard its economic interests.

Mexico to impose retaliatory tariffs on US: President