Gaza: As mass starvation spreads across Gaza, more than 100 NGOs have made an urgent plea to allow life-saving aid into the region. Aid workers, now joining the same food lines as the people they serve, face the risk of being shot while trying to feed their families. Supplies have been depleted to the point where humanitarian organizations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners wasting away.
According to Save the Children, 109 organizations are sounding the alarm exactly two months after the Israeli government-controlled scheme, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating. These organizations are urging governments to take action by opening all land crossings and restoring the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism. They are also calling for an end to the siege and an agreement to a ceasefire.
The daily struggle for survival is evident as each morning echoes the same question across Gaza: "Will I eat today?" The UN-led humanitarian system has not failed but has been prevented from functioning. Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond at scale, but with access denied, they are blocked from reaching those in need, including their own exhausted and starved teams. Despite the EU and Israel's announcement on July 10 to scale up aid, the promises have yet to translate into real change on the ground, leaving many to die from preventable illnesses as children starve.
Palestinians find themselves trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, awaiting assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions. The torment is not just physical but also psychological, as survival feels like a mirage. Humanitarian efforts cannot be sustained on false promises or shifting timelines, nor can they wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access.
The NGOs are calling for governments to stop waiting for permission to take action. They stress the need for decisive measures, such as demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire, lifting all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions, opening all land crossings, ensuring access to all parts of Gaza, and rejecting military-controlled distribution models. A principled, UN-led humanitarian response must be restored, and funding for impartial humanitarian organizations must continue. States are urged to pursue concrete measures to end the siege, including halting the transfer of weapons and ammunition.
Symbolic gestures, such as airdrops or flawed aid deals, are criticized for being smokescreens for inaction. These cannot replace the legal and moral obligations of states to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access at scale. The call is clear: states must take action to save lives before it's too late.
The plea comes from a diverse group of global organizations, including Save the Children, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam International, and many others committed to addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
