Over a hundred organizations, including Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Jerusalem has issued a joint statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

As mass starvation spreads in Gaza, our colleagues and those we are trying to help wither away

Over 100 organizations are sounding the alarm and demanding that life-saving aid be allowed in.

As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now lining up in the same food lines – risking being shot – just to feed their families. With supplies now completely depleted, humanitarian organizations are watching their own colleagues and partners wither away before their eyes.

Two months after the Israeli-controlled Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating, more than 100 organizations are sounding the alarm and calling on authorities to act: Open all land borders; restore full access to food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism. End the siege, and establish a ceasefire now.

“Every morning the same question is heard all over Gaza: Am I going to eat today?

said a representative of an aid organization.

Massacres at food distribution sites in Gaza are occurring almost daily. As of July 13, the UN has confirmed that 875 Palestinians have been killed while trying to obtain food – 201 of them along relief routes and the rest at distribution points. Thousands have been injured. At the same time, Israeli forces have forcibly displaced nearly two million exhausted Palestinians. The latest mass displacement order was issued on July 20 and has confined Palestinians to less than 12 percent of Gaza. The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that current conditions make it impossible to continue its operations. Using starvation against civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.

Just outside Gaza – and even inside Gaza – tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter and fuel are sitting unused, while aid agencies are being prevented from accessing or delivering them. The Israeli government’s restrictions, delays and fragmentation under the total blockade have created chaos, hunger and death. An aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of the devastating impact on children:

The children tell their parents that they want to go to heaven – because at least there is food there.

Doctors are reporting record levels of acute malnutrition, especially among children and the elderly. Diseases such as acute water-borne diarrhea are spreading, markets are empty, garbage is piling up, and adults are collapsing in the streets from hunger and dehydration. Distributions in Gaza are averaging just 28 truckloads per day – far from enough for more than two million people, many of whom have gone weeks without aid.

The UN-led humanitarian system has not failed – it has been prevented from functioning. Humanitarian organizations have the capacity and supplies to respond on a large scale. But with access denied, we are blocked from reaching those who need us – including our own exhausted and starving teams. On July 10, the EU and Israel announced measures to scale up aid. But these promises of “progress” ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground. Every day without consistent access means more people die from preventable diseases. Children starve while waiting for promises that never come true.

Palestinians are stuck in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for help and a ceasefire – only to wake up to increasingly worse conditions. It is not just about physical suffering, but also psychological. Survival appears like a mirage. The humanitarian system cannot be based on false promises. Aid workers cannot operate with ever-changing timeframes or wait for political commitments that do not provide real access.

Authorities must stop waiting for permission to act. We cannot continue to hope that the current arrangements will work. It is time to take decisive action. Demand an immediate and lasting ceasefire, remove all bureaucratic and administrative obstacles, open all border crossings, ensure access to all of Gaza, reject military-controlled distribution models, restore a principled, UN-led humanitarian response, and continue funding independent, and impartial, humanitarian organizations. States must take concrete steps to end the blockade – such as halting the transfer of arms and ammunition.

Half-hearted schemes and symbolic measures – such as airdrops or flawed aid agreements – act as smokescreens for inaction. They cannot replace the legal and moral obligations of states to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access on a large scale. States can – and must – save lives before there are no more to save.

The statement is translated by Caritas Norway

Signed by:

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 Church's Palestine Justice Network

9. Amnesty International

10. Asamblea de Cooperation por la Paz

11. Associazione Cooperazione e Solidarietà (ACS)

12. Bystanders No More

13. Campaign

14. CARE

15. Caritas Germany

16. Caritas International

17. Caritas Jerusalem

18. Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)

19. Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)

20. CESVI Foundation

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 eV

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. Insecurity Insight

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

53. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)

54. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)

55. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

56. Doctors of the World France

57. Doctors of the World 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 International72. 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. Project world

85. Project HOPE

86. Quaker Palestine Israel Network

87. Rebuilding Alliance

88. Refugees International

89. Saferworld

90. Sabeel-Kairos UK

91. Save the Children (SCI)

92. Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund

93. Solidarités International

94. The Danish House in Palestine support association

95. Swiss Church Aid (WITCH/APE)

96. Terre des Hommes Italy

97. Terre des Hommes Lausanne

98. Terre des Hommes Netherlands

99. The Borgen Project

100. The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)

101. The Glia Project

102. The Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)

103. The International Development and Relief Foundation

104. The Institute for the Understanding of Anti‑Palestinian Racism

105. A Bridge for (UPP)

106. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)

107. War Child Alliance

108. War Child UK

109. War on Want

110. World Peace Service e.V.

111. World Hunger Aid (WHH)