World News in Brief: Updates from Gaza, the West Bank and Afghanistan, UN development reforms, change at the top of WFP

It comes as the agency that supports Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, reported a surge in military activity in recent weeks across the Strip, that’s caused increasing casualties and displacement.

“By God, we are very afraid and we keep sheltering inside the house,” said Ahmed Talal, who lives in the al-Shaaf area of al-Zeitoun, just 100 metres from the line which marks the area of Israeli control.

He described “heavy gunfire” from tanks, while “bullets hit the upper part of our house.”

Mr. Talal’s family have been displaced from their neighbourhood 12 times – and the last time they were uprooted, they were homeless for more than six months.

‘Settler terror’ escalating, warn independent human rights experts

UN independent experts on Monday warned of escalating Israeli settler violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

The Human Rights Council-appointed group of 13 Special Rapporteurs said the attacks were increasingly driving the displacement of Palestinian communities.

At least 13 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 500 injured in the first five months of the year, they reported.

They warned that communities in Area C of the West Bank face growing risks of displacement and settlement expansion. The Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills were highlighted as areas under particular pressure.

Communities under increasing pressure

The experts – who are not UN staff and receive no salary for their work – pointed to communities such as Umm al-Kheir in the South Hebron Hills.

They said residents have faced repeated raids, demolitions and damage to infrastructure. Restrictions on access to land and essential services have also increased pressure on the community.

The rapporteurs urged Israel to halt support for settlements and settler violence and ensure accountability for attacks. They also called for stronger protection of Palestinian communities and the safe return of displaced residents.

UN chief urges renewed support for UN development reforms

The UN Secretary-General on Monday said reforms to the UN development system have made it more coherent, accountable and closely aligned with national priorities, but warned that shrinking funding could put progress at risk.

Speaking to the agenda-setting Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), he said 94 per cent of governments now view UN development support as effective, while recognition of Resident Coordinators as key custodians in individual countries rose from 62 per cent in 2019 to 90 per cent in 2025.

“The UN Development system delivered in 2025 – 121 million people were reached with food assistance, 191 million children were vaccinated against measles, often in war-like conditions, social protection was extended to 80 million people and over a half a billion more people were covered by central health services since 2018,” said Stéphane Dujarric, UN Spokesperson.

Call for funding

While noting progress, the Secretary-General warned that declining development financing is leaving the UN system increasingly under-resourced.

“But with less than 1,700 days until the 2030 deadline, many countries face growing pressures – slowing growth, rising vulnerabilities and debts, greater exposure to shocks, and shrinking fiscal space,” he warns.

The UN chief urged Member States to provide more stable and flexible funding, including meeting the 30 per cent core funding target under the Funding Compact.

McCain leaves WFP leaner and stronger; Skau steps up at critical moment

Secretary-General António Guterrespaid warm tribute to Cindy McCain on Monday as she steps down as head of the World Food Programme (WFP), crediting her with transforming the agency into a more agile and effective force against global hunger.

“Under her leadership, WFP became leaner, faster, and more agile in responding to global crises,” the UN chief said.

During her tenure, WFP sustained life-saving operations reaching nearly 100 million people each year. She also strengthened accountability, advanced humanitarian diplomacy, secured new funding sources, and expanded critical partnerships, while placing staff safety and beneficiary welfare at the heart of the agency's work.

‘Steadfast commitment’ to aid the hungry

Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Mr. Guterres was “grateful for her steadfast commitment to the fight against global hunger and malnutrition.”

Carl Skau, who has served as WFP's Deputy Executive Director since May 2023, has been welcomed by the Secretary-General at the helm.

With deep operational expertise and institutional knowledge, Mr. Skau is well-placed to steer the agency forward WFP as it confronts the immense challenge of acute food insecurity affecting more than 360 million people worldwide

Independent experts condemn legitimisation of child marriage in Afghanistan

A panel of UN independent child rights experts have condemned Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban authorities, following the adoption of a new decree that legitimises child marriage and treats a girl’s “silence” as consent, calling it a grave and systematic violation of international human rights law.

The new policy authorised by top Taliban clerics legitimises the marriage of girls upon reaching puberty, also stating that a girl’s silence may be interpreted as consent to wed.

Loss of autonomy, opportunity

“Any legal framework that normalises or facilitates the marriage of children violates their rights, undermines their inherent dignity and deprives them of their autonomy and future opportunities,” the experts said, describing the provision as wholly incompatible with the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The latest decree is part of a broader pattern of discriminatory measures by the Taliban authorities, including the ban on girls’ secondary and higher education and the erosion of women’s and girls’ rights in all aspects of public life.