GAZA: The risks to humanitarian workers in Gaza are intolerable, the United Nations has said as it presses Israel for more effective coordination with the aid groups, approval for the UN to use essential security equipment and for the Israeli military to facilitate aid deliveries, Reuters reports.

“Humanitarian operations have repeatedly been in the crosshairs in Gaza,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. “The risks, frankly, are becoming increasingly intolerable.”

He said the head of UN safety and security met on Monday with Cogat, the Israeli military branch responsible for aid transfers, to discuss UN difficulties working in Gaza during the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken his country would prefer a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said according to Al Jazeera.

The leader of the Palestinian fighter group Hamas Ismail Haniyeh issued a statement following the recent death of his sister, saying any deal that does not guarantee a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s bombardment in Gaza was “not an agreement”, Reuters reports.

“If [Israel] thinks targeting my family will change our position or that of the resistance, they are delusional,” the statement said.