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It's been a week since Venezuela's worst earthquake disaster in over a century. Thousands of people are feared dead, with the official death toll continuing to rise as hope fades of finding survivors in the rubble.

The South American country now faces a humanitarian catastrophe — on top of the deep crises it was already dealing with before the quakes.

Here's a look at some of the major developments since the evening when tragedy struck.

Venezuela's rare double earthquakes happened within seconds of each other on June 24 at 6:04 p.m., measuring a magnitude 7.2 and 7.5. Their epicenters were in Yaracuy state west of the capital of Caracas, and they were felt across Venezuela and even parts of neighboring countries. Venezuelan authorities say the hardest-hit area was La Guaira state.

As of Wednesday, the number of people killed by the earthquakes had risen to 2,295, and more than 11,200 injured, said Jorge Rodríguez, Venezuela's National Assembly president. But tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for.

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The Trump administration announced Wednesday it will not renew the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form. 

Wednesday marked the deadline to renew the trade agreement, which President Trump struck with Canada and Mexico during his first administration.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer noted in a statement that even though the administration will not renew the USMCA, it will remain “in force pending resolution of these issues or until the Agreement’s termination.”

Greer noted that the U.S. will meet with Mexico during the week of July 20 for a third round of negotiations. 

“The United States will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the Agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries,” he said.

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It took Omar Qalib more than a decade to finish his family’s three-story house in Jouret al-Dahab, a neighborhood in the heart of the Jenin refugee camp. A construction worker, he built it himself, brick by brick. But it was worth it, he thought. The property fell within Area A, a zone within the occupied West Bank where the Palestinian Authority nominally controls both civil and security affairs.

But in January 2025, Qalib was forced from his home, along with tens of thousands of other Palestinians, as Israel launched a large-scale military operation dubbed “Iron Wall” targeting refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams. More than 30,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes over the ensuing months, in the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank in a single operation since the 1967 war.

After invading and occupying the camps in February 2025, the Israeli military campaign flattened entire neighborhoods, turning them into wastelands. Where narrow alleys once ran between tall buildings so close they blocked the light, wide dirt roads now cut through the heart of the camps, carved out by Israeli military bulldozers.

As part of the campaign, the camps have been cordoned off. Just to see what’s left of his home, Qalib needs a permit from the Israeli military. Few Palestinians are able to obtain them. And the permits only grant one-time, temporary access. Two weeks ago, Qalib was one of the lucky few who obtained a permit to visit his destroyed home.

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A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has introduced legislation to transform Ukraine’s battlefield drone expertise into a long-term defense technology partnership with the United States.

The Strategic Unmanned Systems Partnership Act would establish a US-Ukraine Strategic Defense Innovation Working Group focused on unmanned aerial systems, unmanned surface vehicles and counter-drone technologies. The goal is to help the US co-develop, co-produce and rapidly acquire cost-effective Ukrainian-designed systems tested in active combat.

The House bill was introduced by Reps. Michael McCaul and Marcy Kaptur, alongside co-leads Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Quigley, Jim Costa and Don Bacon. A Senate companion bill was introduced earlier this month by Sens. Jacky Rosen and Mike Rounds.

According to McCaul’s office, the working group would bring together the Pentagon, Ukraine’s Armed Forces and other relevant stakeholders to deepen cooperation on unmanned systems and counter-unmanned systems. Kaptur’s office also listed Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, the Brave1 defense tech cluster and the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center among the entities involved.

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A framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel has drawn warnings that a clause in the deal could effectively shield Israel from accountability for war crimes.

Article 13 of the 14-point trilateral framework, signed on 26 June, commits Israel and Lebanon to "take good faith measures that demonstrate positive intent, including the cessation of all hostile or adverse actions in international political or legal fora."

The provision has raised alarm among Lebanese human rights and legal experts. 

"The violations committed in Lebanon give the Lebanese state and people the right to seek reparations," Halima Kaakour, a Lebanese MP who is also an international law expert and human rights advocate, told Middle East Eye.

"This provision disregards that right and deprives the Lebanese people of justice. The right to justice is more important than any agreement," she said.

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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the nation to break free from its military reliance on the U.S. and establish its own weapons production capabilities, a move seen as a strategy to fortify Israel's stance in its ongoing conflict with Iran.

Netanyahu expressed his views during a meeting with reserve combat officers in the West Bank's Gush Etzion on Tuesday. While he acknowledged the support received from the U.S., he stressed the importance of Israel having an independent weapons-production system, reported the Times of Israel.

"…But today I say: We need our own independent weapons-production system. We must manufacture our own armaments," said Netanyahu.

The Prime Minister stated, "We are now confronting Iran and its proxies. We have struck them hard. It is not over yet, but it depends on our strength." He further added that Israel's position in the next 30 years would be determined by its strength and independence in armament capability.

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