World News in Brief: Pope Leo urges action on hunger, humanitarian strain deepens in Gaza, families return to Lebanon

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Pope Leo called on the international community to renew its commitment to tackling hunger and malnutrition, describing access to adequate food as a “fundamental human right” during a visit to the World Food Programme (WFP) headquarters in Rome on Monday.

Speaking at a time of mounting humanitarian need and shrinking resources, the Pope warned that conflict continues to drive food insecurity around the world and stressed that food security must be treated as a matter of global security. 

“Meeting this need not only alleviates suffering but also addresses underlying causes of geopolitical instability,” he said. 

Tweet URL

The visit comes as global hunger remains at alarming levels, as an estimated 266 million people across 47 countries faced acute food insecurity last year. 

Growing imbalance 

Pope Leo also raised concern over barriers to humanitarian access and the growing imbalance between investment in conflict and investment in people. 

“In effect, conflicts are ‘fed’ more readily than people are nourished,” he said. “This reality reflects not only operational shortcomings but also a fundamental imbalance in political and moral priorities.” 

During the visit, the Pope laid a wreath at WFP’s memorial wall honouring 171 staff members who lost their lives while serving vulnerable communities around the world.  

He also met virtually with staff responding to hunger emergencies and thanked employees for their work supporting communities affected by conflict, climate shocks and displacement. 

Aid access and fuel shortages deepen humanitarian strain in Gaza 

Civilians across Gaza continue to face airstrikes, shelling, naval fire and shootings in residential areas, according to the UN aid coordination office (OCHA), with reports over the weekend indicating that civilians were among those killed.  

Humanitarian access remains severely constrained. The Kerem Shalom border crossing is currently the only entry point for aid into Gaza. Humanitarian agencies continue to call for additional crossings to open and for restrictions on essential items to be lifted. 

Over the weekend and into Monday morning, aid teams collected shipments including food, blankets, education supplies, recreation items for children, hygiene kits and fuel.  

But limited fuel imports continue to hamper relief efforts, forcing humanitarian partners to prioritize life-saving services while suspending support for less critical activities. Shortages of lubricant oils and difficulty obtaining spare parts for generators have further strained operations. 

“We continue to call for additional crossing points to be opened, and for items that are being restricted to have those restrictions lifted” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. 

Ongoing violence in the West Bank

Meanwhile, violence in the West Bank remains at concerning levels.  

According to humanitarian partners, Israeli forces shot and killed a boy and a man on Sunday who were reportedly among a group burning tyres and throwing Molotov cocktails toward a settlement in Hebron. 

“In law enforcement contexts across the West Bank, lethal force may only be used as a last resort” the Spokesperson said. 

Families return home to southern Lebanon 

Families displaced by months of hostilities in Lebanon are beginning to return to southern parts of the country, even as widespread destruction, damaged infrastructure and limited access to basic services continue to shape daily life. 

Tweet URL

https://news.un.org/en/media/oembed?url=https%3A//twitter.com/OCHALebanon/status/2069108918161150128&max_width=305&max_height=550&hash=KH0IviCm_ReSgytMzgzhgDObpidnr5g1eNnL663L7BA

According to the UN aid coordination office (OCHA), some families are returning directly to their communities, while others are moving closer to home and waiting for conditions to improve before deciding whether they can return permanently. 

“Families displaced by months of hostilities are starting to return to southern areas, despite widespread destruction, damaged infrastructure and limited access to basic services,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. 

Uncertainty remains 

But for many, uncertainty remains. “Some families are moving closer to their areas of origin and waiting for conditions to improve before making a final decision on what they should do next,” he said. 

Although violence has decreased significantly in recent days, the impact of the conflict continues to be felt across Lebanon.  

According to the Ministry of Public Health, 83 people were killed and 141 injured on 19 June alone. Since the escalation of hostilities on 2 March, more than 4,100 people have reportedly been killed and over 12,100 injured. 

“We continue to call for the protection of civilians, sustained humanitarian access and conditions that allow displaced families to return home voluntarily, safely and with dignity” the Spokesperson said.