MONTEVIDEO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin said Wednesday that the diplomatic crisis between Argentina and Brazil is bad news for the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and expressed hope that the two governments would resume dialogue to ease tensions.Lubetkin said the deterioration in relations between Mercosur's two largest members hurts not only Brazil and Argentina, but also Uruguay and Paraguay. We see it very badly, certainly. This doesn't help anyone, he told reporters in Montevideo.He said tensions within Mercosur make the bloc's work more difficult during an important semester, as Uruguay currently chairs both Mercosur and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and is leading a trade negotiation agenda.Lubetkin said he hoped both governments would find state-level channels for dialogue to lower tensions and move forward.Asked about possible Uruguayan mediation, he said Montevideo remained willing to help if requested, but that no mediation effort was currently underway.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip are disrupting civilian life, damaging shelters and increasing displacement, UN humanitarians said Wednesday.The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that timber, ropes, more solar lights and tools must be allowed into the strip in a timely manner to scale up assistance and carry out further upgrades to makeshift shelters, as operations are restricting access to life-saving services.UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov, who also serves as humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, on Tuesday expressed concern over the recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties and damage to critical medical supplies and civilian infrastructure.In a post on X, Alakbarov reiterated that civilian and humanitarian facilities must be protected and that humanitarian operations must be facilitated in accordance with international law.OCHA said the United Nations and its partners are responding wherever and whenever they can. Last week, humanitarians improved nearly 3,000 makeshift shelters in Gaza City and distributed emergency shelter and essential items to 9,000 households, including kitchen sets, tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses, solar lights, and clothes.The office said its partners working on education continue to provide support. More than 250,000 pre-school and school-aged children are participating in summer learning activities that provide a sense of routine and stability and help students recover some of the learning lost during the hostilities.The UN Children's Fund brought more than 600 pallets of recreational kits, school bags and soap into Gaza on Tuesday, OCHA said. The supplies are to be distributed ahead of the new school year, expected to begin in about two weeks.