Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continue to face a terrible humanitarian situation, said spokespersons from several United Nations agencies on Friday, citing difficulties in evacuating patients and the ongoing Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid.
Speaking via video link at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), stressed that local medical workers are doing their utmost to treat the injured despite severe shortages of medical supplies.
She underscored that many patients are in urgent need of medical treatment outside Gaza.
"So far we've only had 255 patients in total evacuated since 18 March, and as I said last week, more than 10,000 patients, including approximately 4,500 children, need urgent medical care outside Gaza," said Harris.
At the same time, Gaza is increasingly facing shortages of basic supplies. Israel blocked the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the end of the first phase of a January ceasefire deal with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN and its partners have 9,000 truckloads of vital supplies ready to move into Gaza. More than half of these contain food assistance, months' worth of food for millions of people.
Though Israel has said its blockade aims to prevent Hamas from using aid supplies for military purposes, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke called the legitimacy of this claim into question. "I received this morning of some of the aid that's waiting just outside the borders to get in. It includes educational supplies, children's bags, shoes -- size three to four years old and up to 10 years old, stationery and toys, rice, wheat flour, canned beans, eggs, pasta, various sweets, tents, water tanks, cold storage boxes, breastfeeding kits, breast milk substitutes, energy biscuits, shampoo and hand soap, floor cleaner. I ask you, how much war can you wait with this?" he said.
More than 53,000 people in Gaza have died since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in October 2023.
UN agencies warn of humanitarian disaster in Gaza amid aid blockade, evacuation challenges
UN agencies warn of humanitarian disaster in Gaza amid aid blockade, evacuation challenges
From cutting-edge technology exhibitions to retail stores thousands of kilometers away from Europe and Southeast Asia, China-made robot vacuum cleaners are increasingly becoming a popular choice among consumers worldwide.
At electronics retailers in Berlin, Germany, Chinese brands such as Roborock and Dreame occupy prominent positions in dedicated robot vacuum sections, offering a wide range of products priced between 200 and 2,000 euros.
Many local consumers said that when purchasing smart home appliances including robot vacuum cleaners, they tend to give priority to Chinese-made products.
"It's a good price and good quality. It's also the innovation. I have a feeling that the European brands are not innovating enough," said one customer.
"I think they're always on top of the other technologies. They are getting them out faster. A lot of us are switching to the Chinese technology," another consumer said.
Germany is one of the most important overseas markets for China's floor-cleaning robots.
According to data from market research firm GfK, from January to November 2025, more than six out of 10 robot vacuum cleaners sold in Western Europe were Chinese brands.
Industry data also point to a strong global momentum.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), global shipments of smart robot vacuum cleaners reached 17.424 million units in the first three quarters of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.7 percent.
Chinese brands including Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi and Narwal ranked among the world's top five in terms of shipment volume, with a combined share of nearly 70 percent of the global market.
At a robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing plant in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, workers were seen stepping up production of newly launched models that recently debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in the United States, which concluded Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The factory adjusted its production lines as early as December 2025 and stocked inventory in advance for overseas markets to ensure that new products could be delivered to global consumers at the earliest possible time.
"In 2025, Roborock's global shipments exceeded 7.2 million units. Since 2024, overseas revenue has accounted for more than 50 percent of our total revenue. Our products have now been sold to more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than 20 million households worldwide," said Quan Gang, president of Roborock.
At another robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing facility in Dongguan, Guangdong, rising overseas orders have prompted the company to upgrade its production lines with intelligent technologies to further boost capacity. The factory is currently operating at full load to meet a growing demand.
"For 2026, we have already obtained overseas orders worth at least 300 million to 400 million yuan (around 43 million to 57.3 million U.S. dollars). In addition, we've engaged in strategic cooperation with European home appliance group Cebos Group, and our total confirmed orders have exceeded 600 million yuan (around 86 million U.S. dollars)," said Zhang Junbin, founder and CEO of Narwal Robotics.
Chinese robot vacuum brands gain strong global traction
