RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The United Nations secretary-general on Sunday called on the United States and others to resume funding the main agency providing aid in Gaza after Israel accused a dozen employees of taking part in the Hamas attack that ignited the war and stoked deadly instability across the Middle East.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced the first deaths of U.S. service members in the region since the war in Gaza began, and blamed Iran-backed militias for the drone strike in Jordan near the Syrian border that wounded “many” others. Meanwhile, U.S. officials said negotiators were closing in on a cease-fire agreement that would bring a two-month halt to the deadliest-ever Israeli-Palestinian violence.

The war has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, destroyed vast swaths of Gaza and displaced nearly 85% of the territory’s people. Israel says its air and ground offensive has killed more than 9,000 militants, without providing evidence. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants took about 250 hostages.

Spokesperson Juliette Touma warned that the agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, would be forced to stop its support to more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza by the end of February. The besieged territory is in the grip of a severe humanitarian crisis, with a quarter of the population facing starvation as fighting and Israeli restrictions hinder the delivery of aid.

“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. “But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”

He said that of the 12 employees accused, nine were immediately terminated, one was confirmed dead and two were still being identified. He said they would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

A GAZA LIFELINE AT RISK OF ‘COLLAPSE’

UNRWA provides basic services for Palestinian families who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding the country’s creation. They live in built-up refugee camps in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The refugees and their descendants are the majority of Gaza’s population. Since the war began, most of the territory’s 2.3 million people depend on the agency’s programs for “sheer survival,” including food and shelter, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. That lifeline could “collapse any time now,” he said after funding was suspended.

The United States, which is the agency’s largest donor, cut funding over the weekend, followed by eight other countries including Britain and Germany. Together, they provided nearly 60% of UNRWA’s budget in 2022.

Already, the amount of aid entering Gaza has been well below the daily average of 500 trucks before the war. And in the past week, hostages’ family members and supporters have blocked aid trucks from entering at the Kerem Shalom crossing. Dozens of protesters again blocked the entry on Sunday, chanting “No aid will cross until the last hostages return.”

The military later declared the area around the crossing a closed military zone, which would prohibit protests there.

PROGRESS IN CEASE-FIRE TALKS

Two senior Biden administration officials said U.S. negotiators were making progress on a potential agreement under which Israel would pause military operations against Hamas for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 remaining hostages.

The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing negotiations, said that emerging terms of the deal would play out over two phases, with the remaining women, elderly and wounded hostages to be released in a first 30-day phase. The emerging deal also calls for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

CIA Director Bill Burns was expected to discuss the contours of the emerging agreement during meetings Sunday in France with David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, in comments to troops on Sunday, said that “these days we are conducting a negotiation process for the release of hostages” but vowed that as long as hostages remain in Gaza, “we will intensify the (military) pressure and continue our efforts — it’s already happening now.”

More than 100 hostages, mainly women and children, were released in November in exchange for a weeklong cease-fire and the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

US DEATHS HIGHLIGHT REGIONAL TENSIONS

The three deaths announced by Biden were the first U.S. fatalities in months of strikes against American forces across the Middle East by Iranian-backed militias amid the war in Gaza. U.S. Central Command said 25 service members were injured.

U.S. officials were working to conclusively identify the group responsible for the attack, but assessed that one of several Iranian-backed groups was responsible. Jordanian state television quoted a government spokesperson as contending the attack happened across the border in Syria. U.S. officials insisted it took place in Jordan, which U.S. troops have long used as a basing point.

The U.S. in recent months has struck targets in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to respond to attacks on American forces and to deter Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from continuing to threaten commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The war in Gaza has sparked concerns about a regional conflict. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has increasingly called for restraint in Gaza and for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into the territory while supporting the offensive.

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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Lidman from Jerusalem. Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war