Israel’s military body that coordinates with the U.N. and other international organizations, COGAT, said in a statement that starting Wednesday it would allow only 300 of the previously agreed 600 humanitarian trucks from the U.N. and other NGOs to enter the Gaza Strip, effectively ending the flow of commercial goods.

COGAT added that no fuel or gas supplies will be allowed into the enclave except when linked to humanitarian needs.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Olga Cherevko, spokesperson in Gaza for the United Nations aid coordination office, OCHAsaid the agency would continue to encourage both sides to adhere to the agreements outlined in the ceasefire agreement.

“We very much hope that the bodies of the hostages will be handed over and that the ceasefire will continue to be implemented.“, she said.

OCHA is currently implementing a 60-day surge plan, as thousands of tons of humanitarian aid and supplies entered Gaza for the first time in months in recent days.

Help intensifies

“Since the ceasefire plan came into force, the UN and our humanitarian partners have been able to move more freely in areas of Gaza from which Israeli forces have withdrawn, without coordination with Israeli authorities“, said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq at the press conference. daily press briefing in New York.

He listed a number of aid advances, including the installation of a solar panel for a desalination unit, new telecommunications equipment to improve connectivity, the transfer of life-saving medicines from the World Food Program (PAM), and other developments.

He stressed that more could be done: more crossing points must be opened, infrastructure must be restored and security guarantees for convoys must be provided.

Landmine risk

Mr. Haq shared an update from United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), referring to the serious risks faced by displaced people and aid workers from unexploded ordnance, such as landmines, in the devastated Gaza Strip.

Since October last year, UNMAS has disposed of 550 explosive munitions, but only in areas it has been able to access. Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officers assess the situation and provide advice to mitigate the risk.

“The ceasefire ended the fighting, but it did not end the crisis“, said Ms. Cherevko.

Unexploded ordnance is just one of many challenges facing the post-conflict period, alongside displacement, destroyed infrastructure, collapse of basic services, and more.

“Scaling up the response is not just about logistics and increasing the number of trucks. It is also about restoring humanity and dignity to a broken population,” she added.

The $45.3 billion needed for vital activities throughout 2025 has been only 21 percent funded in Septemberwith nearly $9.6 billion received, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said Tuesday.

This represents “a staggering decrease of more than 40 percent compared to the same period last year.”

Closure of health facilities and reduction of food aid

OCHA highlighted that funding gaps have devastating consequences for millions of people around the world who are left without health care, food and education.

“In Afghanistanmore than 420 health facilities have closed this year, forcing three million people to be left without intensive care,” the agency said.

In SomaliaFood aid cuts now mean only 350,000 people will receive aid in November, down from more than a million in August, while half a million Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh have lost access to education.

Support saves lives

The UN and its humanitarian partners are doing everything they can to reach as many vulnerable people as possible with the limited funding available, OCHA said.

In June, the agency launched ahyper-prioritized global attractiveness in the broader framework of 2025 Global humanitarian overview which required $29 million to meet the most urgent needs of 114 million people.

“We have been forced into triage of human survival», Tom Fletcher, UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergencies Coordinator. said at the time.

“Too many people will not receive the support they need, but we will save as many lives as possible with the resources given to us. »

OCHA called on donors to increase their investments in humanitarian assistance, saying that “at a time of immense global needs, increased support is essential to save lives.”

In recent years, one bright spot among the gloomy climate predictions has come from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – an intergovernmental body based in Abu Dhabi – which has consistently highlighted the falling costs and increasing efficiency of clean energy sources, such as solar and wind.

On Tuesday, IRENA launched its latest progress reportwho reiterated the impressive rise in renewable energy – 2024 saw a record 582 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity addition – but warned that this is still far from the annual increase needed to wean us off the fossil fuels that accelerate global warming.

“The clean energy revolution is unstoppable,” Mr. Guterres said in response to the study.

“Renewable energy is deployed faster and more cheaply than fossil fuels, boosting growth, jobs and affordable energy.. But the window for keeping the 1.5°C limit within reach is quickly closing. We must scale up, scale up and accelerate the just energy transition – for everyone, everywhere.

Still off track

At the UN COP28 climate conference, governments committed to producing 11.2 terawatts of energy from renewable sources by 2030.

So while the 2024 figure is impressive, it is still far from the 1,122 GW of capacity that needs to be added each year, if this target is to be reached on time.

The report calls on the world’s richest countries to take the lead in moving away from polluting energy sources such as coal and oil and increase their share of renewable energy to around 20 percent of global capacity by the end of the decade.

A major increase in investment for the transition is urgently needed, the report says, to finance the modernization of electricity grids, supply chains and the manufacturing of clean technologies for solar, wind, batteries and hydrogen.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in the country, Matthias Schmale, strongly condemned the attack.

“Today, an inter-agency convoy of four humanitarian trucks, clearly identified as belonging to the UN, carrying aid, was attacked by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation while delivering aid to the town of Bilozerka, Kherson region,” he said. a declaration.

“Intensive artillery fire”

Aid workers from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) were on a mission to a community that had not received help for months.

“When aid workers were on site, intensive artillery fire began, then during unloading.two clearly marked trucks from the World Food Program (PAM) were targeted by first-person view drones,” he said.

“Fortunately, the aid workers were not injured, but two trucks were damaged and set on fire. »

Not a target

The convoy was carrying hygiene kits, medicines and shelter materials, Andrea de Domenico, Ukraine’s senior OCHA official, said in a video posted on social media.

It showed one of the WFP trucks damaged on the side of a road, with flames and black smoke billowing from the top.

“It is extremely important to (remind) all parties that humanitarian aid must be facilitated and humanitarians must be protected,” he said.

Mr. Schmale noted that “Deliberately targeting humanitarian workers and humanitarian resources is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and could constitute a war crime..”

He added that “the Kherson region has also seen an increase in drone attacks, injuring civilians,” which must stop.

“All measures must be taken to protect civilians and humanitarian workers. International humanitarian law must be respected,” he said.

UN human rights monitors recently reported that at least 214 civilians were killed and nearly 1,000 injured in Ukraine in September.

Nearly 70 percent of casualties occurred near the front line, with particularly high numbers in the Donetsk and Kherson regions.