UN to reduce staff in Gaza, blaming Israel for a strike that killed its employee

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The United Nations said Monday it will “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer from Bulgaria and wounding five other employees.

The world body will temporarily remove about a third of its approximately 100 international staffers working in Gaza, U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric. He pointed to the increased danger after Israel relaunched its military campaign last week with bombardment that has since killed hundreds of Palestinians. Israel has also cut off all food, medicine, aid and other supplies to Gaza's population for the past three weeks.

Dujarric's statement was the U.N's first to point the finger at Israel in the March 19 explosion at the U.N. guesthouse in central Gaza. He said that “based on the information currently available,” the strikes on the site “were caused by an Israeli tank.”

The Israeli military repeated its denial that it was responsible for the strike, which took place a day after Israel shattered Gaza's 2-month-old ceasefire with a surprise bombardment across the Gaza Strip.

Dujarric said the U.N. “has made taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar.” He said the U.N. “is not leaving Gaza,” pointing out that it still has about 13,000 national staff in Gaza, mainly working for UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

New Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours killed more than 60 Palestinians around Gaza, the territory's Health Ministry said. The ministry's count does not distinguish between civilians and militants.

The ministry on Monday put out a list of the names of more than 15,000 children, 17 and under, killed by Israel's campaign since it began more than 17 months ago. The list included nearly 5,000 children under the age of 6 who had been killed, including 876 infants who had not reached a year in age,

Israel, which launched its campaign .in retaliation for Hamas’ October 2023 attack, says it has restarted its bombardment and cut off food to Gaza to force Hamas to accept new terms for the ceasefire and release more hostages. It says it targets Hamas members and positions, blaming the group for civilian deaths because it operates among the population.

Air raid sirens and explosions were heard over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and central Israel on Monday evening as the military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency rescue service said “teams are en-route to search areas where reports of rocket strikes have been received.”

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have fired a handful of long-range missiles at Israel in the days since it resumed the war in Gaza. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Houthis.

Two rockets from the Gaza Strip were also intercepted after crossing into Israeli territory earlier Monday evening, setting off sirens, the Israeli military said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, claimed responsibility.

The U.N. reduction comes as aid workers and medical staff have come under fire.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said its office in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip was damaged by an explosive projectile Monday. It said no staff were hurt but the damage has a direct impact on its ability to operate. It did not specify who was behind the explosion.

ICRC also said that on Sunday, contact was lost with emergency medical technicians from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and their whereabouts remain unknown. Last week, humanitarian workers in Gaza were killed and injured, it said.

On Sunday, Israel struck the surgery ward at southern Gaza's biggest hospital, killing two people and wounding others, many of whom were already injured by earlier strikes. One of those killed at Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital was a teenage boy recovering from surgery.

The other was a Hamas official that Israel says was the target of the strike, Ismail Barhoum. Hamas said Barhoum was undergoing treatment at the time. The Israeli military denied that, saying he oversaw Hamas' finances in Gaza, including transferring money to its armed wing, and was working out of the hospital.

The strike last week on the U.N. compound outside Deir al-Balah killed a 51-year-old staffer, Marin Valev Marinov. He worked with the U.N. Office for Project Services, which carries out infrastructure and development projects around the world.

In the two days before the deadly blast, strikes hit next to and then directly in the compound, UNOPS chief Jorge Moreira da Silva said earlier. He said the agency had contacted the Israeli military after the first strike and confirmed that the military was aware of the facility’s location.

Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the U.N.’s humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said the U.N. and its partners have already suspended a number of activities, many in education, protection and water and sanitation services. The reason, she was, was safety concerns and the impact of Israeli evacuation orders.

“A lot things are constrained right now because of the security situation,” she told AP before Dujarric’s announcement. “The challenges are massive. We have had a lot of our activities affected by the situation and a lot of our partners have had to suspend operations because it is just not safe.”

Movement of trucks, including those distributing water, have been affected, she said. Only 29 out of 237 temporary learning spaces have resumed their activities since the ceasefire collapse, she said.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 113,000, according to the Health Ministry. Nearly 90% of the population of some 2,3 million have been driven from their homes. Israel launched the campaign vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others.

Lederer reported from the United Nations, Keath from Cairo. Associated Press correspondent Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Amani Abu Aker holds the body of her two-year-old niece Salma, killed during an Israeli army strike, before their burial at the Baptist hospital in Gaza City, Monday March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians carry the body of Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas' political bureau who was killed in an Israeli army strike on Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians carry the body of Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas' political bureau who was killed is an Israeli army strike of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises to the sky after an explosion in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The body of United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is treated at the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A man shows what he said was shrapnel from a projectile that struck a U.N. guesthouse, leaving one staff member dead and five others injured in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The impact of a projectile is visible on the wall of the U.N. guesthouse, where United Nations workers were located when the building was struck, leaving one staff member dead and five others injured in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is brought into al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following what the U.N. described as a strike in which an explosive ordnance was "dropped or fired" in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alex Sarr scored 24 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Washington Wizards to a 119-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night that snapped a five-game skid.

Justin Champagnie added 18 points while shooting 4 for 6 from 3-point range and had 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who won for the third time in their last 10 games.

Quentin Grimes scored 22 points for the 76ers, who dropped their sixth straight. Guerschon Yabusele added 21 points and eight rebounds.

Champagnie scored 16 points in the first half for the Wizards, who led 67-58 at halftime.

Washington went on an 11-0 run in the third quarter to extend its lead to 89-71 with 2:48 left in the period. Tristan Vukcevic scored a team-high 11 second-half points as the Wizards were outscored by four points over the final two quarters, but still held on to win.

Wizards: Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft, has now scored at least 19 points in six of his last eight games.

76ers: One encouraging sign for Philadelphia was the continued production from Grimes, who has scored at least 22 points in nine straight games. His 22-point performance Wednesday was actually his lowest total since March 6, when he had six points in a 123-105 loss at Boston.

Champagnie, Sarr and Jordan Poole sank 3-pointers during a 10-0 run in the opening minutes that gave Washington a 10-2 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The Wizards led 45-29 by the end of the first quarter. It was the most points allowed by the 76ers in the opening quarter this season.

The Wizards outscored the 76ers by 12 points on 3-pointers, making 18 compared to 14 for the 76ers. Nine of those for Washington came in the first quarter, the most for the Wizards in any quarter this season.

Wizards: Begin a five-game homestand Thursday against Indiana.

76ers: Host the Miami Heat on Saturday.

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Washington Wizards' Jordan Poole, right, goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers' Justin Edwards during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Will Smith reacts to the crowd before an NBA basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Washington Wizards Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Bub Carrington, right, dunks past Philadelphia 76ers' Jeff Dowtin Jr. during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Ricky Council IV, center, goes up for a shot between Washington Wizards' Jaylen Martin, right, and Tristan Vukcevic during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Tristan Vukcevic dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Colby Jones, top, goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers' Guerschon Yabusele during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Jaylen Martin, right, reacts after dunking the ball against Philadelphia 76ers' Justin Edwards during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Alex Sarr (20) goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers' Jeff Dowtin Jr. (11) and Guerschon Yabusele (28) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Alex Sarr (20) goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers' Adem Bona (30) and Ricky Council IV (14) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)