Mass Starvation Spreads Across Gaza: Over 100 NGOs Call for Immediate Action

Gaza. – More than 100 humanitarian organisations have issued an urgent joint appeal calling on world governments to act decisively as the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues to deepen. In a statement released on the 23rd of July, 109 NGOs—including both local and international actors—warn that aid workers themselves are now queuing in food lines alongside civilians, „risking being shot just to feed their families.“

“Each morning, the same question echoes across Gaza: will I eat today?” said one agency representative.

Since the launch of the Israeli government-controlled Gaza Humanitarian Foundation two months ago, the situation has only worsened, according to the organisations. They are demanding the immediate opening of all land crossings, the restoration of essential supplies under a UN-led, principled mechanism, and an end to the siege, coupled with a permanent ceasefire.

The statement details daily massacres at food distribution sites. By mid-July, the UN had confirmed at least 875 Palestinians killed while attempting to access food—201 of them along aid routes. Displacement orders have now confined nearly two million people to less than 12% of the territory.

“Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food,” said one aid worker providing psychosocial support.

Despite warehouses full of supplies just outside and even within Gaza, organisations report being blocked from delivering them. The UN warns that humanitarian operations have become „untenable.“ The use of starvation as a weapon of war is classified as a war crime under international law.

„The UN-led humanitarian system has not failed, it has been prevented from functioning,“ the NGOs declare. „Promises of ‘progress’ ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground. Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying of preventable illnesses. Children starve while waiting for promises that never arrive.“

The call to action concludes with a direct appeal to states:

“Governments must stop waiting for permission to act… Piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures, like airdrops or flawed aid deals, serve as a smokescreen for inaction. They cannot replace states’ legal and moral obligations to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access at scale. States can and must save lives before there are none left to save.“

Source: www.savethechildren.de

_{Photo: Screenshot WHO website by epo.de. People in Gaza starving, sick and dying as aid blockade continues.}

Signatories:

1. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
2. A.M. Qattan Foundation
3. A New Policy
4. ACT Alliance
5. Action Against Hunger (ACF)
6. Action for Humanity
7. ActionAid International
8. American Baptist Churches Palestine Justice Network
9. Amnesty International
10. Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz
11. Associazione Cooperazione e Solidarietà (ACS)
12. Bystanders No More
13. Campain
14. CARE
15. Caritas Germany
16. Caritas Internationalis
17. Caritas Jerusalem
18. Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)
19. Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)
20. CESVI Fondazione
21. Children Not Numbers
22. Christian Aid
23. Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
24. CIDSE- International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations
25. Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud (CISS)
26. Council for Arab‐British Understanding (CAABU)
27. DanChurchAid (DCA)
28. Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
29. Doctors against Genocide
30. Episcopal Peace Fellowship
31. EuroMed Rights
32. Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
33. Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e.V.
34. Gender Action for Peace and Security
35. Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)
36. Global Witness
37. Health Workers 4 Palestine
38. HelpAge International
39. Humanity & Inclusion (HI)
40. Humanity First UK
41. Indiana Center for Middle East Peace
42. Insight Insecurity
43. International Media Support
44. International NGO Safety Organisation
45. Islamic Relief
46. Jahalin Solidarity
47. Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
48. Kenya Association of Muslim Medical Professionals (KAMMP)
49. Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
50. MedGlobal
51. Medico International
52. Medico International Switzerland (medico international schweiz)
53. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)
54. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
55. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
56. Médecins du Monde France
57. Médecins du Monde Spain
58. Médecins du Monde Switzerland
59. Mercy Corps
60. Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)
61. Movement for Peace (MPDL)
62. Muslim Aid
63. National Justice and Peace Network in England and Wales
64. Nonviolence International
65. Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC)
66. Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)
67. Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)
68. Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
69. Oxfam International
70. Pax Christi England and Wales
71. Pax Christi International
72. Pax Christi Merseyside
73. Pax Christi USA
74. Pal Law Commission
75. Palestinian American Medical Association
76. Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
77. Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS)
78. Peace Direct
79. Peace Winds
80. Pediatricians for Palestine
81. People in Need
82. Plan International
83. Première Urgence Internationale (PUI)
84. Progettomondo
85. Project HOPE
86. Quaker Palestine Israel Network
87. Rebuilding Alliance
88. Saferworld
89. Sabeel‐Kairos UK
90. Save the Children (SCI)
91. Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund
92. Solidarités International
93. Støtteforeningen Det Danske Hus i Palæstina
94. Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER)
95. Terre des Hommes Italia
96. Terre des Hommes Lausanne
97. Terre des Hommes Nederland
98. The Borgen Project
99. The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)
100. The Glia Project
101. The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)
102. The Institute for the Understanding of Anti‐Palestinian Racism
103. Un Ponte Per (UPP)
104. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
105. War Child Alliance
106. War Child UK
107. War on Want
108. Weltfriedensdienst e.V.
109. Welthungerhilfe (WHH)