Gaza - The UN agency for supporting Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday that Israel's ban on its operations would lead to the "collapse" of humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip.

"If this law is implemented, it would be likely to cause the collapse of the international humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip – an operation of which UNRWA is the backbone," Jonathan Fowler, an UNRWA spokesperson, told AFP.

"It would also be likely to cause the collapse of essential services provided by UNRWA in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including education, healthcare, and sanitation."

Israel formally notified the United Nations of its decision to sever ties with the agency supporting Palestinian refugees, it said Monday, after lawmakers voted to ban the organization vital to the occupied territories.

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The ban, which sparked global condemnation including from US, should come into force in late January, with the UN Security Council warning it would have severe consequences for millions of Palestinians.

Without providing substantive evidence, Israel has accused a dozen employees of the agency, UNRWA, of participating in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. UNRWA fired nine employees following the accusations.

"On the instruction of Foreign Minister Israel Katz, the ministry of foreign affairs notified the UN of the cancellation of the agreement between the State of Israel and UNRWA," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"UNRWA, the organization whose employees participated in the October 7 massacre and many of whose employees are Hamas operatives, is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution," Katz was quoted as saying.

Israel has slaughtered at least 43,341 people in Gaza since October 2023, according to figures from the territory's health ministry. The British medical journal Lancet and other experts believe the true number to be far greater, upwards of 186,000 as of July.

Israel has dismissed warnings about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"The State of Israel is committed to international law and will continue to facilitate the entrance of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in a manner that does not harm the security of the citizens of Israel," Katz claimed.

Residents of Nur Shams camp in the occupied West Bank were fearful for the future after an Israeli raid last week damaged the UNRWA office there. The 13,000 inhabitants of the camp near the northern city of Tulkarem depend heavily on UNRWA.

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"For us, it's UNRWA or nothing," Shafiq Ahmad Jad, who runs a phone shop in the camp, told AFP.

"For the refugees... they look to UNRWA as their mother," said Hanadi Jabr Abu Taqa, an agency official in charge of the northern West Bank. "So imagine if they lost their mother."

UNRWA was established in 1949 and began its operations on May 1, 1950. It was tasked with assisting some 750,000 Palestinians who had fled or been expelled from their homes during the Nakba.

The agency's mandate has since been repeatedly extended amid the continued human rights violations targeting Palestinian refugees.

The US government cut off additional funding for the vital agency in January following Israel's claims, while continuing to send billions of dollars' worth of military aid to the apartheid state.

Since late September, Israel has escalated its assault on Lebanon.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the northern border with Lebanon, where he reiterated in a meeting with troops his war objectives on the northern front.

"I want to be clear: with or without an agreement, the key to restoring peace and security in the north... is first and foremost to push Hezbollah back beyond the Litani River, secondly to target any attempt to rearm, and thirdly to respond firmly to any action taken against us," Netanyahu told troops at the border, his office said in a statement.

The Litani River flows across southern Lebanon.

Israel launched in late September a massive aerial campaign across Lebanon and sent in ground troops on September 30.

Israel has killed more than 1,940 people in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher.

On Monday, the Israeli military said it had killed a top Hezbollah commander responsible for launching rocket and anti-missile attacks against Israeli forces in south Lebanon.

Hezbollah said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Safed on Monday. The group has said it is acting in support of the people of Gaza.

Israeli jets carried out strikes on Monday targeting several areas of southern Lebanon, according to the official National News Agency (NNA).

In Bazouriyeh, near the south Lebanese city of Tyre, the NNA said rescuers were looking for people missing under the rubble after a strike on Sunday.