Gaza: UN and charities say people urgently need more food

BBC News

3 days ago

Charities are warning that people in Gaza need food straight away. A group of 100 aid agencies, which includes Save The Children and Oxfam, says that people face starvation.The United Nations (UN) has reported that people have been taken into hospital because they have not had enough food.Doctors and aid agencies say that children and old people are particularly vulnerable to starvation.
Israel put in place a blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza. Although the blockade was partly loosened after two months, shortages of food have got worse since then.When Israel started the blockade in March 2025, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was doing it because Hamas was refusing to agree to an American outline of talks for the next stage of the ceasefire. At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu also repeated demands for the return of all Israeli hostages.The aid agencies and the UN blame Israel for the food shortage.The UN says that there have been many issues causing the shortage of aid, but they say the main one in recent weeks is that people have been killed at sites controlled by the Israeli military where aid is handed out in Gaza.The Israeli military says that its troops near the aid sites only fire warning shots and do not deliberately shoot at civilians (people not involved in the fighting).
The 100 charities say it is time for governments around the world to take "decisive action", meaning they should take strong steps to get food to people in Gaza.Israel's Foreign Ministry said it "categorically rejected" the statement from the 100 aid agencies, meaning that it definitely and very firmly disagreed with what they said.The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in October 2023, after Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7th October 2023, killing civilians and taking people hostage.