Aid groups warn of starvation in Gaza as deadly Israeli strikes continue
Meanwhile, the US administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was set to meet with a senior Israeli official about ceasefire talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough.
Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and offensive, launched in response to Hamas's attack on October 7 2023. Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security.
People in #Gaza, including UNRWA staff, are fainting due to starvation and severe hunger.
People including children are dying from severe malnutrition.
People are being starved.
UNRWA alone has thousands of trucks in neighbouring countries waiting to enter Gaza – banned by… pic.twitter.com/02h3MMD4pd
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 23, 2025
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 50 hostages it holds, around 20 of them believed to be alive, in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to recover all the captives and continue the war until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed.
In an open letter, 115 organisations, including major international aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away'.
It blamed Israeli restrictions and 'massacres' at aid distribution points. Witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated.
'The government of Israel's restrictions, delays and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation and death,' the letter said.
Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism and accused the groups of 'echoing Hamas's propaganda'. It said it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks to enter Gaza since lifting a complete blockade in May, and that more than 700 are waiting to be picked up and distributed by the United Nations.
Israeli activists take part in a protest against the war in the Gaza Strip (AP)
That is an average of around 70 trucks a day, the lowest rate of the war and far below the 500-600 trucks a day the UN says are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year.
The UN says it has struggled to deliver aid inside Gaza because of Israeli military restrictions, ongoing fighting, and a breakdown of law and order. An alternative system established by Israel and an American contractor has been marred by violence and controversy.
An official familiar with ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas said Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was travelling to Rome to meet Mr Witkoff on Thursday to discuss the state of the talks.
US officials said Mr Witkoff planned to head to Europe this week. The State Department spokesperson said he was headed to the Middle East in a sign that momentum may be building towards a deal.
The evolving deal, which is still being hammered out, is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce.
"Silencing voices.
As if banning international media is not enough.
Humanitarian workers are also banned when they report on atrocities committed in #Gaza and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The denial of a visa to our colleague from @OCHAopt is the latest in… pic.twitter.com/ewMk0PUY7o
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 22, 2025
Israel has continued to carry out waves of daily air strikes against what it says are militant targets but which often kill women and children. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas.
Strikes overnight and into Wednesday killed at least 21 people, more than half of them women and children, according to local health officials.
One of the strikes hit a house in Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties.
The dead included six children and two women, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The Israeli military said it struck an Islamic Jihad militant, and that the incident was under review because of reports of civilian casualties.
Another strike hit an apartment in northern Gaza, killing at least six people. Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant. Eight others were wounded, the ministry said.
Palestinians are relying on aid in an increasingly dire humanitarian situation (AP)
A third strike hit a tent in Gaza City late Tuesday and killed three children, Shifa Hospital said.
In central Gaza, a strike in a densely populated part of the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed eight people and wounded 57, according to Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack, and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
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