American Victims of Hamas and Hezbollah Attacks Sue U.N. Agency
The lawsuit suit was filed on Thursday in federal court in the District of Columbia by American citizens living in Israel and the United States and their family members. A similar case has been playing out since last year in federal court in Manhattan.
Both suits are attempting to hold the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, known as UNRWA, responsible in some measure for violent acts by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, groups dedicated to the destruction of Israel that have been designated terrorist organizations by the United States. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages, both compensatory and punitive.
Israel has long maintained that UNRWA has been infiltrated by militants and is biased against Israel in the war in Gaza, an accusation U.N. officials have denied. The agency has been at the center of controversy during the conflict, which was set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In the New York case, lawyers for the U.N. agency have argued it is exempt from such suits because it has diplomatic immunity. The Biden administration supported that position, but in April, lawyers in President Trump's Justice Department reversed the government's stance, paving the way for the latest lawsuit.
Some analysts say the Justice Department's new position could open the door not only to more civil cases seeking damages from the agency, but also to the Treasury Department's imposing sanctions on it.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, Palestinian officials claim - short of 600 needed
Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday - despite the humanitarian situation in the enclave worsening, Palestinian officials have warned. According to the Gazan government's media office, most of the humanitarian supplies were looted and stolen - "as a result of the state of security chaos that the Israeli occupation systematically and deliberately perpetuates". Officials say at least 600 truckloads of aid are required on a daily basis, adding: "The needs of the population are worsening." A statement released late last night called for "the immediate opening of crossings, and the entry of aid and infant formula in sufficient quantities" - and "condemned in the strongest terms the continuation of the crime of starvation". Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, refuted this - and accused Hamas of "stirring up a slanderous propaganda campaign against Israel". He said: "The cruelty of Hamas has no boundaries. While the State of Israel is allowing the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, the terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving our hostages and document them in a cynical and evil manner. "The terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving the residents of the Strip as well, preventing them from receiving the aid." It comes as the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza said its headquarters in Khan Younis were hit by an Israeli strike, killing one staff member and injuring three others. Footage posted on social media shows a fire broke out in the building. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a 60-day ceasefire, and a deal for the release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, ended in deadlock last week. US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy told the families of the hostages yesterday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would end the war. Steve Witkoff claimed that Hamas was willing to disarm to stop the conflict, despite the group's repeated statements that it would not do so. In response, Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital. Read more from Sky News: After Mr Witkoff's meeting with the families of the hostages, Hamas released two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 and has been held in captivity in Gaza since. The 24-year-old looked skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back. He was heard saying that he had not eaten for three days. The distressing videos show him digging his own grave, he said in the footage.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Mob of anti-Israel protestors clash with police after attempting to storm Grand Central Terminal: cops
Anti-Israel protesters clashed with police outside Grand Central Terminal Saturday — resulting in four arrests, cops and sources said. The chaos erupted around 3:30 p.m. when hundreds of demonstrators that had been marching in Manhattan attempted to storm the transit hub's doors, forcing officials to lock and barricade the iconic building. The unruly crowd was part of a protest organized by Palestinian activist group Within Our Lifetime that started outside City Hall earlier in the afternoon, according to police. Advertisement The group, waving Palestinian flags and chanting, scuffled with NYPD and MTA officers outside the station's Vanderbilt Hall entrance, according to cops and shocking videos on social media. One video of the melee showed protesters hurling profanities at a female officer before a group of cops tackled an agitator, while others formed a barrier to keep the hostile group from entering the terminal. 4 NYPD and MTA police officers confronting Palestine protestors at Grand Central Station. Some cops were seen using batons to fend off the protestors. Advertisement 4 NYPD officers detaining Palestine protestors at Grand Central Terminal. 4 Some cops were seen using batons to fend off the protestors. A handful of the rowdy flag-waving demonstrators, shouting 'Free Palestine' and banging on drums, made it into the main concourse, but were removed by authorities, a video shared by WOL showed. Advertisement None of the arrested protesters were publicly identified by cops. Two of them were arrested by the NYPD, charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct and issued Criminal Court summonses, a police spokesperson said. 4 Footage of a scuffle between NYPD officers and Palestine protestors at Grand Central Terminal. MTA officers took two other demonstrators into custody, but no details about what charges may be facing were immediately made public. Advertisement Train service didn't seem to have been disrupted after the wild skirmish. A heavy police presence remained hours later, blocking off the area where the tussle erupted.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Israeli forces kill 62 Palestinians in Gaza since dawn, medics say
Sixty-two Palestinians, most of them aid seekers, have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since dawn on Saturday, hospital sources in the besieged enclave have told Al Jazeera. The death toll includes 38 Palestinians seeking aid at distribution sites operated by the controversial United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The deaths are the latest killings reported near GHF-operated sites, despite Israel's announcement last week that it would begin implementing 'tactical pauses' in fighting in some areas to allow Palestinians greater access to humanitarian aid. Israel announced the start of the daily pauses in military operations on July 27. However, 105 Palestinians were killed while seeking food on Wednesday and Thursday alone, the United Nations Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory said on Friday. As of Friday, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid, according to the human rights office. Another 169 Palestinians, including 93 children, have died of starvation or malnutrition since the start of Israel's war in October 2023, according to figures from Gaza's Ministry of in the enclave have reported numerous cases of Israeli soldiers and American security contractors hired by the GHF deliberately firing on aid seekers in the vicinity of the distribution sites. Facing growing international condemnation over the conditions in Gaza, Israel has in recent days allowed airdrops of aid into the enclave by countries including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Spain, Germany and France. But humanitarian groups, including the UN aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, have warned that the airdrops are insufficient and called on Israel to facilitate the free flow of assistance via land. Gaza's Government Media Office said that just 36 aid trucks entered the enclave on Saturday, far short of the 600 trucks it said were needed to meet the humanitarian needs of the population. In Khan Younis, a Palestine Red Crescent Society staffer was killed and three others wounded by an Israeli attack on its headquarters, according to the aid group. 'One Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) staff member was killed and three others injured after Israeli forces targeted the Society's headquarters in Khan Younis, igniting a fire on the building's first floor,' the PRCS said in a post on X on Saturday. Reporting from central Gaza's Deir el-Balah earlier on Saturday, Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary said that Palestinians have not seen any improvement in their situation despite the recent deliveries of aid. 'In the markets, you barely find food. Whatever is available is very, very expensive, and Palestinians are still forced to risk their lives to get whatever they can get,' Khoudary said. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, on Saturday said Gaza was experiencing a famine that had been 'largely shaped' by the attempts to replace the UN-led aid system with the 'politically motivated' GHF. 'Sidelining & weakening UNRWA has nothing to do with claims of aid diversion to armed groups. It is a deliberate measure to collectively pressure & punish Palestinians for living in Gaza,' Lazzarini said in a post on X. UNICEF has warned that malnutrition in Gaza has exceeded the threshold for famine, with 320,000 young children among those at risk of acute malnutrition. 'We are at a crossroads, and the choices made now will determine whether tens of thousands of children live or die,' Ted Chaiban, UNICEF's deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations, said in a statement on Friday after a recent visit to Israel, Gaza and the occupied West the daily Crossword
