Bill Deere, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), discussed with ABC News on Wednesday relief efforts in Gaza and

The ban effectively cuts off the UN aid agency from delivering critical aid to Gaza, putting millions of Palestinians at risk after 15 months of war have devastated the region.

The law that bans the United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Gaza went into effect on Wednesday.

U.N. officials vowed Thursday that the agency would continue to deliver services in the occupied Palestinian territories for as long as possible.

It is through this Alliance that Hamas will be removed and excluded from governing Gaza and for the first time in the Conflict’s 77-year history, leadership representing the interests of the Palestinian people and Israel will govern Gaza.

Millions of Palestinians rely on the UN agency, not only in Gaza but also across the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. | ITV National News

Iman Helles, a displaced mother sheltering in a facility run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, fears that she will now be “thrown out to the streets” with her three children.

The Israeli military says Hamas released a female Israeli soldier on Thursday morning. The Islamic group says it will free two more captives later in the day.

Hamas freed three Israeli and five Thai hostages in Gaza on Thursday and Israel began releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners after delaying the process in anger at the swarming crowds at one of the hostage handover points.

The Norwegian government said Thursday that it would contribute $24 million to the UN agency that helps looks after Palestinian refugees, the same day that

Long lines of Palestinians -- some kneeling to kiss the soil as they stepped into the northern part of the strip -- were making their way home on Monday.