Activists have tried to delivered supplies to Palestinians whose homes in the occupied West Bank have been besieged for days by Israeli settlers.

The group left water and food near one of the houses in Qusra where two Palestinian families have been trapped since Sunday, with their power and water supplies cut off.

Two of the residents said Israeli forces had prevented the activists from delivering the aid directly to them, and the supplies had to be left outside. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied this.

Also on Friday, a number of settlers returned to set up a tent near the site – a day after an operation to disperse them from the area. It was later removed by Israeli forces.

The IDF said Qusra was a “closed military zone” and so Israeli civilians – who were among the activists – could not enter the area.

“But they weren’t prevented from transferring aid to the Palestinian homes in Qusra.”

It said in a further statement that Israeli civilians had erected a tent in the Qusra area earlier on Friday, “and IDF soldiers operated to remove it while protecting the local residents”.

About a dozen Palestinian households were told to leave their properties during the operation to disperse settlers on Thursday, including members of the Abu Ridi and Hassan families living in two of their three besieged homes.

Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi told the BBC that Israeli forces were using some of the vacated Palestinian houses as barracks.

The Israeli military said the aim was “to protect the residents” and soldiers had been “instructed that the Qusra residents will remain in their homes”.

A spokesperson had previously described the settlers’ actions as “deplorable” and “unacceptable”, adding that the government would investigate and arrest those responsible.

From providing emergency care and evacuation support, to repairing bombed energy plants, UN humanitarian workers are delivering despite reduced resources, an expanding frontline and direct attacks on their colleagues.

The widespread use of drones and glide bombs in the Ukraine war means that a large swath of the country is directly exposed to Russian strikes, further complicating the work of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which is preparing for the famously harsh Ukrainian winter.

UN News spoke to Andrea de Domenico, OCHA’s Ukraine country chief, about the challenges he and his colleagues are dealing and how they cope with working under fire.

Andrea de Domenico: Our resources are shrinking, so we have to make tough choices. We have identified some specific priorities, such as frontline response, evacuation support, and humanitarian aid for displaced people.

We’re focused this year primarily on those living along the frontline, most of whom are vulnerable, elderly people with limited mobility who need support.

On top of that, we have to respond to attacks on energy infrastructure, which is a big challenge. In the last week, for example, 60 percent of gas production has been damaged. If you take away water and electricity, surviving winter will be very, very difficult.

UN News: How much do you need to help those in need, and how much have you received?

Specifically for winter we have asked for $277 million and roughly 50 per cent of that has been mobilized, so there is still a long way to go in order to hit the overall target.

Unfortunately, if we don’t reach that figure it means that people will not be able to spend winter in their homes and will have to be evacuated.

UN News: Last week a UN convoy was shelled. How does your team cope with the psychological pressure of working in such conditions?

The vast majority of humanitarian assistance on the frontline is provided by local authorities and local partners, and we should recognise the fantastic work that they do day in, day out.

They have been exposed to these types of attacks over and over again. This year alone, we have recorded more than 100 incidents.

There have been attacks in which we were collateral damage, but this is the first direct attack on a United Nations humanitarian convoy. Of course, it’s shocking.

After it happened, I said to the team that this is one of the risks that we have to deal with. Our UN security colleagues worked excellently with us and were very effective in protecting the life of those involved in that mission.

It takes a lot of determination, courage and motivation to keep on doing it, but that’s what it is, to be involved in humanitarian operations in a war zone. 

The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.

One week into the fragile ceasefire, WFP has been bringing in an average of 560 tonnes of food each day.

“The ceasefire deal has opened a narrow window of opportunity, and WFP is moving very quickly to scale up food assistance and reach families who have endured months of blockade, displacement and hunger,” said Abeer Etefa, WFP Senior Regional Communications Officer and Spokesperson for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Ms. Etefa said teams and supply networks were fully mobilised.

Five distribution points now open

“We’re still below what we need, but we’re getting there,” she noted. Five food distribution points are now operating across Gaza, focusing on women and children. “Our goal is to expand to 145 distribution points across all of Gaza—that’s the scale we’re aiming for,” she added.

Aid agencies stress that sustained access and multiple crossings are essential to reach everyone in need. Only two crossings are currently open, and those in the north remain closed, restricting deliveries to the hardest hit areas.

“Roads are blocked and destroyed. This is a huge limitation to transport,” Ms. Etefa said.

Because of access and security constraints, no food distributions have yet taken place in Gaza City, only nutrition supplies for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office (OCHA), said the northern crossings remain closed “because the Israeli authorities have not opened them”.

He added that road repairs and clearance of unexploded ordnance are also essential for safety and access. “It is very important to have these openings in the north, as that is where the famine took hold,” he said.

170,000-tonne aid scale up

According to WFP, 57,000 tonnes of food are already pre-positioned in Egypt, Jordan and inside Israel, with plans to scale up to 170,000 tonnes – enough for 1.6 million people over three months. “Beyond that, we need to maintain at least three months of stocks at all times,” Ms. Etefa said.

On 16 October, 950 trucks entered Gaza, including eight carrying fuel and three carrying gas, according to OCHA. Around of third of them passed through UN-coordinated mechanisms.

UN Women: Recovery must be led by women and girls

UN Women’s Chief of Humanitarian Action, Sofia Calltorp, urged the international community on Friday to turn Gaza’s fragile ceasefire into a recovery led by women and girls.

“We have heard from so many women and girls across Gaza since the ceasefire began – a mix of fragile hope, deep exhaustion and quiet strength,” she said.

“For the first time in months, some can seek care, receive aid and sleep without the sound of airstrikes. But hope, on its own, is not enough.”

Ms. Calltorp stressed that over one million women and girls need food aid and a quarter of a million require urgent nutrition support. “This ceasefire is our window to deliver fast, to stop famine where it has begun and prevent it where it looms,” she said.

University of Worcester

University of Worcester

‘Very professional’

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s newly unveiled Global Governance Initiative (GGI) marks Beijing’s clearest statement of intent to reshape the international order, analysts say, as the world reels from intensifying great-power rivalry and the breakdown of postwar alliances.

Unveiled at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin on September 1, Xi’s initiative calls on nations to build a “fairer and more reasonable system of global governance” rooted in sovereign equality, multilateralism, and an “action-oriented” approach to global challenges.

Xi framed the proposal in sweeping historical terms, likening today’s geopolitical turbulence to the post-World War II upheaval that gave birth to the United Nations 80 years ago. He warned that Cold War thinking, hegemonism, and protectionism continue to cast a “lingering shadow” over global affairs, even as new threats emerge.

“History tells us that the more difficult the times, the more we must hold fast to the aspiration of peaceful coexistence and strengthen our confidence in cooperation and win-win outcomes,” Xi said in his keynote address.

For China, the GGI consolidates a decade of diplomatic activism under Xi — from the Global Development Initiative (2021) and Global Security Initiative (2022) to the Global Civilisation Initiative (2023). Together, these proposals articulate Beijing’s push for a multipolar order where developing nations wield greater voice, while the United States becomes one pole among many.

Yet questions abound: Can Beijing translate rhetoric into action? Will the Global South rally behind China’s leadership? And how will internal economic weakness and international distrust constrain Xi’s ambitions?

Xi’s choice of the SCO as the stage for announcing the GGI was telling. Founded in 2001 as a security bloc between China, Russia, and Central Asian states, the SCO has since grown to ten members, including India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus. With its reach across Eurasia, the bloc gives China a platform to amplify its governance vision beyond the West-dominated order.

By invoking 1945, Xi sought to elevate the present moment to another inflection point. Just as the devastation of two world wars prompted the creation of the UN, he suggested, today’s turbulence — trade wars, pandemics, climate shocks, and new technological frontiers — demands systemic transformation.

“China is positioning itself as the defender of peace and as the key shaper of the new order it is proposing,” said Dylan Loh, assistant professor of public policy at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

Jonathan Ping, associate professor at Bond University, called the juxtaposition deliberate. “It frames today’s turbulence not as chaos, but as an opportunity for systemic transformation led by China,” he said.

Analysts note that Beijing views the current moment as uniquely favorable, especially as Washington pulls back from multilateral leadership.

Since returning to office in January, President Donald Trump has pursued an aggressively unilateralist agenda: slapping tariffs on allies and rivals alike, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, exiting the World Health Organization, and suspending most U.S. foreign aid.

Washington has also scaled back funding for European defense initiatives such as the Baltic Security Initiative, alarming NATO allies and deepening doubts about U.S. reliability.

“Xi is trying to equate the post-WWII disorder with the current disorder that he is implicitly blaming on the United States,” said Zachary Abuza, an expert on Asian security.

At a grand World War II parade in Beijing two days after the SCO summit, Xi again warned that humanity faced a stark choice between peace and war, dialogue and confrontation. “We will work hand in hand with people of all countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind,” he declared.

For Abuza, Beijing’s aim is not outright global hegemony but a system where Washington’s dominance is diluted. “The costs of global leadership are more than what China wants to pay. What it wants is a multilateral system where China and other developing countries check U.S. hegemony,” he said.

Observers stress that the GGI does not break entirely new ground. Instead, it consolidates earlier Chinese proposals into a more coherent package.

The Global Development Initiative emphasizes narrowing inequality, the Global Security Initiative promotes dialogue over military blocs, and the Global Civilisation Initiative stresses cultural pluralism as an alternative to Western universalism.

The GGI gathers these under five guiding principles: sovereign equality, respect for international law, multilateralism, putting people first, and an action-oriented approach.

“GGI offers something akin to a small roadmap of what a new order might look like,” Loh said. “Its value lies in bringing disparate strands of Chinese foreign policy into a more coherent package.”

A Chinese concept paper released shortly after Xi’s speech identified three deficiencies in the current order: underrepresentation of the Global South, erosion of the UN Charter’s authority, and the failure to address emerging issues like climate change, artificial intelligence, and outer space governance.

In Beijing’s telling, the GGI aims to strengthen the UN system, not replace it, but with reforms that tilt power toward developing countries.

Support for the GGI surfaced at the Tianjin summit, with leaders of Belarus, Pakistan, and Iran voicing approval. Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith endorsed it in a bilateral meeting with Xi, while Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim signaled support during talks in Beijing.

But analysts caution that enthusiasm across the Global South will be uneven.

“This term is itself contested,” Loh noted. “Some states are comfortable with China’s leadership, others will hedge, and some remain wary of Beijing’s growing influence.”

Jonathan Ping agreed. While China’s messaging resonates with countries seeking alternatives to Western-dominated systems, others may see it as self-serving.

For instance, Beijing’s insistence on sovereign equality rings hollow to some Southeast Asian neighbors, given China’s defiance of a 2016 international tribunal ruling rejecting its expansive claims in the South China Sea.

“It’s rather rich for the Chinese to call for adherence to international law,” said Abuza, pointing to Beijing’s partnership with Russia and rejection of arbitration under UNCLOS.

The optics of Xi sharing a stage with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un at the September 3 parade only underscored Western skepticism. Both leaders remain internationally isolated — Putin for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Kim for his nuclear weapons program.

Even as Beijing projects confidence abroad, internal challenges complicate its global push.

“Although Beijing is always trying to project strength, Xi has to cope with enormous economic weaknesses, a decline in domestic consumption, rising capital flight, an enormous demographic challenge, and opaque politics without a clear transition mechanism,” Abuza said.

China’s economy has slowed sharply, with youth unemployment spiking and property markets struggling. Its population has entered long-term decline, raising fears about sustaining growth and innovation.

These structural weaknesses, analysts say, mean Chinese foreign policy is driven as much by insecurity as ambition.

Anchoring the GGI in the SCO reflects Beijing’s view of the bloc as a testing ground for alternative governance ideas. Xi told SCO leaders that the organization should “play a leading role and set an example” in implementing the initiative.

But the SCO’s ability to lead global governance reform remains limited. Its membership spans rivals such as India and Pakistan, diverse political systems, and countries with competing foreign alignments.

“Beijing is positioning the SCO as a platform to export its governance vision beyond Eurasia,” Ping said. “But its internal fragmentation and limited institutional capacity constrain its effectiveness.”

Still, China has a track record of building parallel institutions. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), launched in 2016, operates alongside the World Bank and IMF. The BRICS grouping has also grown into a geopolitical forum aimed at challenging Western dominance.

“Today, Xi sees the SCO, alongside BRICS, as vehicles to lead a global reordering and establish a multilateral system,” Abuza said.

In many ways, the GGI crystallizes the contradictions of China’s global ambitions.

On one hand, Beijing is offering a vision of fairness and reform that resonates with many developing countries disillusioned with Western-led institutions. By consolidating its earlier initiatives into a single banner, it presents itself as a coherent alternative voice.

On the other hand, the initiative lacks concrete mechanisms and resources. It remains unclear how China intends to implement its lofty goals, and whether it can overcome skepticism about its intentions.

“GGI is more about timing and positioning than novelty,” Loh observed. “It’s a signal that China is serious about reforming the system, but whether it can lead and deliver remains an open question.”

Xi Jinping’s Global Governance Initiative is China’s boldest attempt yet to redefine the terms of international order. By invoking the spirit of 1945, Xi is presenting China not as a disruptor but as the rightful heir to the postwar system — a system now in need of reform to reflect the rise of the Global South.

Whether Beijing can turn this vision into reality will depend on three tests: rallying sustained support from diverse developing nations, managing contradictions between its rhetoric and behavior, and overcoming domestic weaknesses that threaten to undercut its leadership.

The humanitarian network is currently at a standstill because the internet shut down earlier this week after the last fibre cable route serving central and southern Gaza was cut during heavy fighting.

“As the outage continues, partners are unable to communicate or coordinate response activities, and people in need remain isolated and without the information they need to access life-saving support and emergency services,” UN aid coordination office OCHA said in an update.

Connectivity a life or death issue

Restoring connectivity is urgent. OCHA said the Israeli military recently posted a warning on social media where areas marked in red on a map are considered dangerous combat zones, calling on people to stay away from them.

Although these areas apparently cover most of the Gaza Strip’s territory, most people have no way to access the announcement.

Meanwhile, partners working on telecommunications continue efforts to coordinate urgent repairs of the fibre optic cable routes in Gaza, including those that were previously damaged. 

However, since April, Israeli authorities have denied more than 20 requests to carry out this work.  

“It is critical that repair of the lines is enabled immediately,” OCHA said.

Humanitarian missions denied

The agency further reported that the Israeli authorities continue to deny many humanitarian movements aimed at providing support to Gaza’s population, which numbers over two million.

On Thursday, they rejected eight out of 18 UN attempts to coordinate such movements, including efforts to retrieve wheat flour and fuel supplies. 

Four other missions were unable to be accomplished, either because of impediments or because they had to be cancelled for security or logistical reasons. 

The remaining six missions, which included the movement of staff, were successful.

‘Recipe for chaos’

Conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza after 20 months of war followed by a total blockade of aid and commercial goods which began on 2 March.

People are crammed in shelters, or living in tents, and lack basic essentials.  For example, the accumulation of solid waste is severely impacting health and environmental conditions, the UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA said on Friday.

Israel temporarily lifted the ban in mid-May, and the UN was able to bring in small amounts of key aid items such as flour and medicines – though far from enough to prevent starvation from impacting the population.

Since late May, the UN and partners have been sidelined as a new aid distribution model began operations.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by Israel and the United States, uses private military contractors, according to media reports.  More than 200 people have been killed, and thousands more injured by gunfire near its hubs.

The mechanism is “a recipe for chaos,” UNRWA tweeted on Friday, echoing the words of its chief Philippe Lazzarini.

“It is weaponising aid and resulting in fear, discrimination, and growing desperation,” the agency said.

“It is time to lift the siege and let the UN, including UNRWA, do the work. Aid must be delivered safely and at scale.”

‘Hunger must never be met by bullets’

The UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Tom Fletcher underscored the need to act now in a statement issued late on Thursday.

“Hunger must never be met with bullets,” he said. “Humanitarians must be allowed to do their work. Lifesaving aid must reach people in need, in line with humanitarian principles.” 

Mr. Fletcher said attacks against civilians in Gaza “are unacceptable”, which includes the killing and injury of hungry people seeking food and those delivering aid.

He said UN humanitarian convoys have been intercepted by armed Palestinian gangs, endangering staff and drivers.

“Civilians in desperate need of the food we’re able to bring in, have not been spared; some have been shot by Israeli forces, and others crushed by trucks or stabbed while trying to retrieve food,” he added.

Let humanitarians work

He also mentioned incidents “concentrated around militarized distribution centres, where starving people tell us that Israeli forces opened fire on them.” 

“Hospitals report that they have received 245 fatalities and over 2,150 injuries from these areas over the past two weeks,” he said.

Furthermore, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said on Thursday that Palestinians involved in their distribution were killed, injured, and captured by Hamas.

“Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means of survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos, and the loss of more lives,” the UN relief chief warned.

“We stand ready, as we have repeatedly emphasized, to deliver life-saving aid at scale,” he said.  “Let us do our work.”

Reuters

EPA

Reuters

EPA

Reuters

The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for the DRC, announced on Thursday, aims to deliver lifesaving assistance to 11 million Congolese, including 7.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) – among the highest displacement figures globally.

Overall, some 21.2 million Congolese are affected by multiple crises, notably armed conflict, natural disasters, and epidemics.

Multidimensional crises

The HRP was launched in the DRC capital Kinshasa by the Government and humanitarian partners.

It comes as the country is facing unprecedented multidimensional crises, characterized by three major destabilizing factors: a spiral of violence spreading from Ituri to Tanganyika provinces; the presence of M23 rebels who now control key areas of North Kivu and South Kivu, where humanitarian needs are immense, and a major funding crisis that threatens humanitarian response.

“All warning signals are flashing red. Yet, despite immense challenges, humanitarian action continues to prove its effectiveness in saving lives every day,” said Bruno Lemarquis, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC. 

“We must adapt to keep delivering this vital aid without ever compromising the fundamental principles that guide humanitarian action: neutrality, impartiality, independence, and humanity,” he added.

Support for families 

Humanitarians said response this year aims to meet the most urgent needs and alleviate suffering through swift and effective assistance, adapted to the conditions on the ground. 

The HRP includes treating 1.5 million children suffering from acute malnutrition, providing access to safe drinking water for five million people, and combating outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, measles, and Mpox. 

The plan will also support the return of displaced families, restoration of livelihoods, and preparedness for climate-related shocks. Furthermore, in a context marked by extreme violence, protecting civilians and the most vulnerable – especially women and children – remains a top priority in all they do. 

However, operations are threatened by a sharp decline in financial support. 

‘At a crossroads’

Last year, humanitarians received a record $1.3 billion in funding, allowing them to reach 7.1 million in the DRC. Leading donor the United States covered 70 per cent of the funding. Washington announced in January that it was freezing all foreign aid payments for at least 90 days.

“We stand at a crossroads. Without increased international mobilization, humanitarian needs will skyrocket, regional stability will be further jeopardized and our capacity to respond will be severely compromised,” Mr. Lemarquis said.

The humanitarians called on the Congolese Government, the international community, and national and international humanitarian partners for a collective surge of solidarity to implement the plan with the necessary resources, access, and support. 

“Humanitarian assistance is essential to save lives. However, it is not the solution,” said Mr. Lemarquis.

“Real solutions are, above all, political and require targeted, sustainable actions to address the root causes of the conflicts.”

More updates to follow 

NHS leaders have acknowledged a recovery plan for dentistry in England, launched by the previous Conservative government a year ago, has comprehensively failed.

One aspect of the plan – ‘Golden Hello’ payments to encourage dentists to start working in underserved areas – has seen only 39 dentists appointed out of a target of 240.

Another idea – the introduction of mobile dental vans – has completely failed to deliver any extra capacity.

At a Parliamentary committee NHS leaders acknowledged the fundamental problem was the contract that dentists are offered to carry out NHS work – and the best thing was to rip it up and start again.

The Dental Recovery Plan was first outlined by Conservative health ministers in February 2024, to try and address a crisis in NHS dentistry in England.

Many patients struggle to access NHS dental care, with some towns now known as ‘Dental Deserts’, in which there are simply no NHS dentists at all.

UK-wide research carried out by BBC News in 2022 found that 9 out of 10 NHS dentists were no longer accepting new adult patients.

8 out of 10 were no longer taking on children as patients, even though they are meant to be entitled to free care.

But senior bosses from NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have now told a committee of MPs that the recovery plan outlined a year ago has failed.

Professor Sir Chris Whitty, currently Interim Permanent Secretary at the DHSC – the most senior civil servant – was asked whether the plan was on track to deliver the extra 1.5 million treatments for patients that had been promised by the last Government.

“The very short answer is no.

“Within the Dental recovery Plan, there were four components, of which I think one didn’t start at all, which was on dental vans.

“There were three (additional) elements that were aiming to address recognised problems…but the solutions were unsuccessful.”

Sir Chris said that a “patient premium” to incentivise dentists to take on new patients had failed to result in any significant increases in patient numbers.

A “Golden Hello” payment scheme has so far only seen an additional 39 dentists contracted to work in underserved areas, against a target of 240.

And a reform of the amount of money dentists are paid for individual treatments had failed to bridge the gap with what they earn for private work.

Amanda Pritchard, head of NHS England, told the Public Accounts Committee that lessons would be learned from the failure of the plan.

“The thing which we are focusing on next, which is a very clear priority for the Government, is the delivery of the additional 700,000 urgent dental appointments.

“We are expecting commissioners to plan for that.

“And crucially we are leaning the lessons of what hasn’t worked.”

There was an acknowledgement from health leaders and MPs that the fundamental problem with dentistry is the contract for NHS work, which many dentists say actually costs them money.

Amanda Pritchard of NHS England agreed with one MP who suggested the solution was to rip up the existing contract and start again.

“The right answer I think is to consider a much more radical reshaping of dentistry in this country because it feels to us that tweaking around the edges…you can see it has made some difference, but not enough.”