A pause in Israeli bombardment has not alleviated the hunger crisis in Gaza, as Palestinians still eagerly await the arrival of much-needed aid supplies.
Days after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect, long lines of aid trucks carrying life-sustaining essentials still linger on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, a key route for humanitarian deliveries into the war-torn strip.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Thursday that the Palestinian side of the Rafah aid crossing would probably not reopen until this coming Sunday.
At a local marketplace, a Gaza resident described shelves still short of essentials, with many basic goods hard to find as families wait for aid to arrive.
"For two whole years, we've been struggling to provide food for our children but couldn't. We try to make them sleep at night feeling full like other children, but they wake up hungry in the middle of the night. I do my best to provide them with any kind of food, but there's no cooking gas, no healthy food, no chicken, no eggs, not even milk for the children, which has caused them calcium deficiency and weak bones," said Sumoud Zoweidi, a Gazan woman.
In the meantime, aid truck drivers have no other option but keep waiting patiently, hoping to deliver essential relief to residents suffering from severe shortages and famine.
Hunger crisis persists in Gaza despite ceasefire
A robot unpacking competition at the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing concluded on Monday, putting contestants' delicate manipulation skills to the test.
As a sub-discipline of the dedicated competition for dexterous-hand, the unpacking challenge required robots to use a utility knife to slice through the sealing tape on express delivery boxes and remove the contents, all without damaging the items or significantly tearing the boxes. Scores were based on how many boxes each robot could successfully open within five minutes.
"My robot completed just one box in the preliminary round, but managed six today. We train hard every day because the precision requirements are extremely high. After cutting the tape, the robot has to open all four sides of the box so the item falls out naturally," said Wang Ruichao, a member of a competition team
Though simple for human, the task is deceptively demanding for robots to handle on their own. With a narrow blade and small handle, the utility knife requires stable multi-finger gripping and the ability to align a blade just 0.5 millimeters thick against the tape. That pushes robots to demonstrate not only object recognition and precise control, but also bimanual coordination and multi-step planning, experts said.
"The hardest part is pushing out the blade of the knife. That motion alone is very difficult. During cutting, grip strength and sensitivity vary, and incidents can happen. For example, the knife can slip. In face of such circumstances, the robot has to reposition it properly, which tests its force-control sensing," said chief referee Wang Shilong.
From picking up the knife and extending the blade to completing the cut, the routine demands comprehensive control of force, angle, and precision, as well as deep coordination between robotic arms and intelligent algorithms. Industry insiders noted that skills tested in such tasks are expected to find wider use in logistics sorting, precision instrument assembly, and other real-world scenarios where humanoid robots can add practical value.
Robots race to unpack boxes at Humanoid Robot Games, showcasing delicate manipulation
