Mass Starvation Grips Gaza, Warn 100+ NGOs as Aid Stalls

More than 100 aid organisations have warned that "mass starvation" is spreading across Gaza, as diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire and improved aid access remain stalled.

The warning came ahead of US envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Europe for talks aimed at advancing a ceasefire agreement and establishing a humanitarian corridor. The ongoing war, now in its 21st month following Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023, has left over two million Palestinians in Gaza facing extreme shortages of food, water, and essential supplies.

The UN reported on Tuesday that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians attempting to access food aid since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations in late May. This initiative has largely sidelined the previously UN-led aid system.

In a joint statement signed by 111 organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Save the Children, and Oxfam, aid groups warned that "our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away." The statement urged an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the reopening of all land crossings, and unrestricted aid delivery under UN leadership.

Despite a partial easing of Israel's blockade in late May, humanitarian access remains severely restricted. Aid groups report that tonnes of supplies are stuck in warehouses just outside or within Gaza, unable to be distributed due to access denials.

“Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions,” the statement read. “It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage.”

The aid groups stressed that the humanitarian system cannot function on broken promises and that waiting for political solutions while people starve is untenable.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the "horror" in Gaza as unprecedented in recent years. Gaza's largest hospital reported on Tuesday that 21 children have died from malnutrition and starvation in just three days.

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, have made little progress since resuming in Doha on July 6. Talks remain at a standstill despite repeated international appeals for an immediate ceasefire.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s military campaign has killed 59,106 Palestinians, the majority of whom are civilians. Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in 1,219 deaths, also mostly civilians.