Fighting across Gaza as UN aid office faces more cuts

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (AP/AFP): Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants in different parts of Gaza on Monday, even in northern areas where the army has been operating for months, and militants fired a barrage of around 15 rockets at central Israel for the first time in weeks.
Cease-fire talks are ongoing, but Israel has said "significant gaps" remain in any potential agreement. The talks are meant to bring about some respite to Gaza and secure the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages still held by militants.
Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, most of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Despite the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the besieged territory, the U.N. aid agency for Palestinians faced more funding cuts Monday. Some Western countries froze vital funds for UNRWA amid accusations that 12 of its roughly 13,000 employees in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host a meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday afternoon, the spokesman said, and he met the U.S. ambassador and is speaking to the Jordanian and Egyptian leaders on Monday.
Hamas wants comprehensive
ceasefire in Gaza
A senior Hamas official said Monday the Palestinian group wanted a "complete and comprehensive ceasefire" in Gaza, after mediator Qatar said a framework for a temporary truce was being proposed.
"We are talking first of all about a complete and comprehensive ceasefire, and not a temporary truce," Taher al-Nunu told AFP, adding that once the fighting stopped "the rest of the details can be discussed" including a hostage release.