World
Aid is surging into Gaza under the ceasefire. Is it helping?
JERUSALEM (AP) — Two weeks after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect, aid is flooding into the Gaza Strip, bringing relief to a territory suffering from hunger, mass displacement and devastation following 15 months of war.
But Palestinians and aid workers say it’s still an uphill battle to ensure the assistance reaches everyone. And looming large is the possibility that fighting will resume if the ceasefire breaks down after the six-week first phase.
As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel said it would allow 600 aid trucks into Gaza each day, a major increase. Israel estimates that at least 4,200 trucks have entered each week since the ceasefire took hold.
Humanitarian groups say aid distribution is complicated by destroyed or damaged roads, Israeli inspections and the threat of unexploded bombs.
On Saturday, Samir Abu Holi, 68, watched over a food-distribution point in Jabaliya, an area in northern Gaza razed to the ground during multiple Israeli offensives, the most recent of which cut off nearly all aid for over a month.
“I have more than 10 children. All of them need milk and food. Before the ceasefire, we used to provide food with difficulty,” he said. “Today there is a little relief.”
Here’s a closer look at the aid situation.
A surge of aid
The main U.N. food agency, the World Food Program, said it dispersed more food to Palestinians in Gaza during the first four days of the ceasefire than it did, on average, during any month of the war. Over 32,000 metric tons of aid have entered Gaza since the ceasefire, the agency said last week.
Aid is now entering through two crossings in the north and one in the south. Aid agencies said they are opening bakeries and handing out high-energy biscuits, and Hamas police have returned to the streets to help restore order.
Before the ceasefire, aid organizations said delivery was complicated by armed gangs looting the trucks, attacks on aid workers, arduous Israeli inspections and difficulties coordinating with COGAT, the Israeli military body charged with facilitating aid. Israel blamed the U.N. and humanitarian organizations for failing to deliver aid once it reached Gaza.
There’s now the “political will to make everything else work,” said Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli organization dedicated to protecting Palestinians’ right to move freely within Gaza.
“COGAT is fast-tracking responses to coordination requests. It’s allowing two crossings instead of one to operate in the north. The ceasefire is allowing Hamas forces to operate freely to stop looting … and the lack of hostilities allow aid agencies to move freely and safely,” Hary said.
Food prices are still a challenge
Nadine Jomaa, a young woman in Bureij in central Gaza, said the aid is not freely available, and she needs to buy goods in the market, where they are resold for inflated prices. Though prices are coming down, flour and cooking gas still cost roughly triple the amount they did before the war, according to the World Food Program.
Her family is eating only cheap canned goods. “We need more food, water, household items for the kitchen and bathroom and women’s items,” she said.
Although humanitarian officials have long said the best way to prevent extortion is to flood Gaza with aid, Palestinians in the north say that, so far, the influx appears to have only boosted shadowy middlemen. Residents complain that there are not nearly enough tents entering Gaza while non-essential items such as chocolate, nuts and soda are suddenly ubiquitous.
Ahmed Qamar, 34, who returned to live in the ruins of his former home in Jabaliya, said his area has seen just a few dozen aid trucks.
“Hundreds of families here are sleeping in the open and in the cold,” he said. “We need electricity and shelter, and meanwhile markets are flooded with chocolate and cigarettes.”
Though aid workers say the Israeli inspection process has accelerated, getting certain types of aid into Gaza is still challenging. Some items are deemed “dual-use,” barring them from Gaza because of concerns they could be diverted by militants for military purposes.
Some hospitals and desalination plants still have fuel shortages. And Hamas on Sunday accused Israeli officials of obstructing the delivery of medical supplies and reconstruction machinery.
According to a list circulated to humanitarian groups by COGAT and shared with The Associated Press, desalination and water-collection devices, storage units, tools, tent kits, ovens, water-resistant clothing and equipment for shelter construction teams all require “pre-approval” before entering Gaza. Large tents, sleeping bags, portable toilets, heating pads and vaccines are cleared to enter the strip without Israeli approval.
“While aid is getting in in higher numbers, we also know that those restrictions on essential items are persisting,” said Sophie Driscoll, head of communications for the International Rescue Committee in the Palestinian territories.
COGAT acknowledged keeping certain items on the dual-use list but said it is still permitting them into Gaza after screening. The agency said tents are not considered dual-use, and Israel has allowed tens of thousands into Gaza in recent weeks “without restriction.” It also said Israel has extended the hours crossings are open and allowed road repairs inside Gaza.
“Regarding the distribution of aid inside Gaza, Israel does not control the situation inside,” COGAT said.
Destroyed roads, unexploded ordnance
Roads have been heavily damaged by the war, and unexploded bombs litter the landscape. The U.N. estimates that 5% to 10% of all ammunition dropped in Gaza has failed to detonate, making the territory potentially perilous for civilians and aid workers.
UNMAS, the U.N. agency handling unexploded ordnance, said that since the ceasefire took hold, humanitarian convoys and civilians have reported finding large aircraft bombs, mortars and rifle grenades.
As they return home, many Palestinians are living in areas where the water network has been destroyed. That makes dehydration and the spread of disease due to poor sanitary conditions and limited medical care a threat.
Speaking from southern Gaza, Jonathan Crickx, chief of communications at UNICEF, recalled being on a road where “thousands and thousands of children and families were walking.”
“I was seeing them with nothing,” he said, “only the clothes they’re wearing on their back.”
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World
Anti-G7 protest turns violent as demonstrators torch Tesla and smash UN office windows
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Protesters on Sunday set a Tesla vehicle on fire and smashed windows at a United Nations agency in Geneva as they marched against a Group of Seven summit set to kick off across the border in France, prompting police to fire tear gas.
Around 20,000 people gathered for a march that was initially peaceful before some protesters later damaged what they described as symbols of capitalism and multilateralism, including the parked Tesla and the UN agency.
Demonstrators grabbed bricks from the ground to throw at police, as tear gas was deployed in Geneva’s streets, witnesses told Reuters.
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A Tesla car burns during a protest against the upcoming G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, in France, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 2026. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)
There have been previous protests at G7 gatherings over the years, with many demonstrators using the summits to speak out against capitalism, globalization, climate change and inequality.
Demonstrators in the latest protest said they were marching against the G7 as a symbol of concentrated political and economic power.
This comes after Tesla owner Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire last week.
“To me, it’s a meeting of the rich that shows once again how the rich can become even richer while the poor are left behind,” protestor Pippa Saugy told Reuters.
People hold a protest against the upcoming G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains in France, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 2026. (REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
The G7 summit, scheduled to take place from Monday to Wednesday in Évian-les-Bains, on the shore of Lake Geneva, will feature the leaders of France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S., as well as the European Union.
The conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to dominate the agenda. Leaders will likely attempt to avoid a clash with U.S. President Donald Trump after he announced a tentative agreement aimed at ending the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.
Businesses in Geneva were boarded up and hundreds of riot police were deployed in the streets over concerns about violence.
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People attend a protest against the upcoming G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains in France, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 14, 2026. (REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
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“This is an attempt to frighten demonstrators, to frighten people and discourage them from coming out to protest,” protester Mattia Piccard told Reuters.
Another demonstrator said she wanted to raise the issue of gender inequality during the march against the G7.
“The values represented by the G7 are completely misogynistic, and they contribute to inequality,” Clélia Colin told the outlet.
Reuters contributed to this report.
World
At least 58 states and territories contaminated by landmines, UN says
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At least 58 states and territories are contaminated by anti-personnel mines, the UN rights chief said on Tuesday, with heavy civilian casualties in Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
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“It is deeply troubling that almost 30 years since the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty was adopted, these explosive weapons continue to kill and injure people, often decades after they were placed,” Volker Türk said in a statement.
“It is essential that all states recommit to putting an end to the production, use and transfer of these weapons and redouble their efforts to cooperate in clearing mines already placed.”
Türk produced a report on the situation, drawing on information from governments, NGOs, humanitarian organisations and civil society.
At least 945 people were killed and 4,325 injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2024 alone, it said, citing the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor.
“Among victims where the status as military or civilian was known, civilians made up approximately 90% of all recorded casualties in 2024,” the report said.
The states with the highest number of casualties in 2024 were Myanmar with 2,029, Syria with 1,015, then Afghanistan with 624, followed by Ukraine, Nigeria, Mali, Yemen and Burkina Faso, which each recorded more than 200 casualties.
In a separate statement, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said mines and explosive remnants of war, including cluster munitions, killed or injured more than 5,000 people in 2025, again with the vast majority being civilians.
Türk’s office noted that children make up more than 40% of all civilian casualties of anti-personnel mines recorded since 1999.
Besides killing and maiming, anti-personnel mines turn areas into no-go zones, Türk’s office said, hampering rights, prolonging displacement and stopping land from being used for agriculture.
While the Ottawa mine ban convention has 162 states parties, Türk noted that other countries with considerable stockpiles are not yet members.
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland recently withdrew and Ukraine is suspending its implementation.
“States that have not yet ratified the treaty should promptly do so and those that have withdrawn should quickly rejoin,” said Türk.
He hailed Lebanon’s recent decision to join the Ottawa convention, despite the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Türk’s report said that in the seven years to 2025, contributions to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action sharply decreased from $125 million to $46 million (€107 million to €39 million).
Additional sources • AFP
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