State Dept. cites human rights violations; UNRWA independent report released

The U.S. State Department said in a new report that the conflict between Israel and Hamas “continues to raise deeply troubling concerns for human rights,” pointing to alleged violations in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and citing reports of war crimes committed by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. A separate, independent report looking into the embattled U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees found that Israel has not substantiated claims that significant numbers of the agency’s employees have ties to militant groups.