on their convoy, before resuming weeks later.

UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said the agency has “the largest reach” and ”it is very, very difficult to imagine any humanitarian operation without UNRWA.”Ruth James, Oxfam regional humanitarian coordinator, said large networks are needed to get aid to everyone. “That takes time and expertise,” she said. “Any new system that comes in this quickly and without humanitarian expertise and trust from communities will not be able to do that.”

Huckabee called on U.N. agencies and aid groups to join the new mechanism.Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office, said Friday that U.N. concerns have not been addressed in multiple meetings with Israeli officials. He dismissed claims that theft of aid was significant in scale.“The problem is the blockage of hundreds of aid trucks that should go into the Gaza Strip every single day. That is the root cause of the humanitarian crisis.”

El Deeb reported from Beirut, and Keaten from Geneva.This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the family name of the executive director of the aid group Medglobal to Belliveau instead of Belleveau.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — As Romania braces for a high-stakes presidential runoff this weekend between two starkly different candidates, 25-year-old medical resident Alexandra Bejinariu is anxious about which direction her European Union nation will choose in the closely watched vote.

Like many voters, the young medic views Sunday’s ballot between hard-right nationalist frontrunner George Simion and pro-Western reformist and incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan as a choice for the country’s geopolitical future.Regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said the barrage struck apartment buildings, private homes, a supermarket and a school.

Videos shared by Kiper on Telegram showed a high-rise building with a severely damaged facade, a shattered storefront and firefighters battling flames.A drone struck and ignited a fire at a petrol station in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Following the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had ignored a U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire for more than 50 days now.“There were also our proposals — at the very least, to refrain from striking civilian infrastructure and to establish lasting silence in the sky, at sea, and on land,” he said. “Russia has responded to all this with new shelling and new assaults.”