More than 100 organisations sound the alarm about famine in Gaza
In a joint statement, prominent organisations including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and Oxfam said that as supplies are totally depleted and mass starvation is spreading across the enclave, adding "humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes."
The humanitarian organisations point out that food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched just outside, or in some cases inside Gaza, in warehouses.
"The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime," the statement added.
The organisations are demanding an immediate ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of humanitarian aid under the previous UN-led mechanism.
The statement comes exactly two months after the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over aid delivery operations and shortly after the Strip saw its deadliest day for aid-seekers, with at least 85 Palestinians killed trying to access food on Sunday.
Since May, more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to access aid have been killed by Israeli forces, mostly near aid sites run by the controversial American contractor, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday.
In January, Israel banned the main UN organisation, UNRWA, from delivering aid, accusing Hamas of looting aid without providing evidence.
The head of Al-Shifa hospital announced on Tuesday that 21 children died in 72 hours due to malnutrition and starvation, in a scene the UN described as proof that "starvation is knocking on every door."
Speaking at a Security Council meeting on Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described the situation in Gaza as a "horror show, with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times."
Guterres added that he was appalled UNOPS (UN Office for Project Services) and WHO (World Health Organisation) facilities, including its main warehouse, were struck in Deir al Balah over the weekend.
"These premises are inviolable. And must be protected under international humanitarian law without exception," Guterres said.
Diplomatic efforts and stalled negotiations
Later this week, US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Europe to discuss a range of issues, including Gaza and the push for a ceasefire.
Witkoff also plans to visit the Middle East, where the US Envoy has "strong hope" that the US can deliver a ceasefire deal and the establishment of a "humanitarian corridor" to the besieged strip, Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Israel is increasingly facing pressure from the international community as the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to drastically deteriorate.
Israel's military offensive has now almost reached its 21st month and has left widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, aid and basic amenities.
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France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Aid groups warn of starving children as European powers discuss Gaza
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that a quarter of the young children and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers it had screened at its clinics last week were malnourished, a day after the United Nations said one in five children in Gaza City were suffering from malnutrition. With fears of mass starvation growing, Britain, France and Germany were set to hold an emergency call to push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and discuss steps towards Palestinian statehood. "I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. The call comes after hopes of a new ceasefire in Gaza faded on Thursday when Israel and the United States quit indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar. US envoy Steve Witkoff accused the Palestinian militant group of not "acting in good faith". President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France would formally recognise a Palestinian state in September, drawing a furious rebuke from Israel. 'Mass starvation' More than 100 aid and human rights groups warned this week that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza. Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for the deepening crisis, which the World Health Organization has called "man-made". Israel placed the Gaza Strip under an aid blockade in March, which it only partially eased two months later. The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, replacing the longstanding UN-led distribution system. Aid groups have refused to work with it, accusing it of aiding Israeli military goals. The GHF system, in which Gazans have to travel long distances and join huge queues to reach one of four sites, has often proved deadly, with the UN saying that more than 750 Palestinian aid-seekers have been killed by Israeli forces near GHF centres since late May. An AFP photographer saw bloodied patients, wounded while attempting to get humanitarian aid, being treated on the floor of Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis on Thursday. Israel has refused to return to the UN-led system, saying that it allowed Hamas to hijack aid for its own benefit. Accusing Israel of the "weaponisation of food", MSF said that: "Across screenings of children aged six months to five years old and pregnant and breastfeeding women, at MSF facilities last week, 25 per cent were malnourished." It said malnutrition cases had quadrupled since May 18 at its Gaza City clinic and that the facility was enrolling 25 new patients every day. Aid groups and medics have also warned that a lack of food is preventing the sick and wounded from recovering. 'High risk of dying' On Thursday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that one in five children in Gaza City were malnourished. Agency chief Philippe Lazzarini said: "Most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying if they don't get the treatment they urgently need." He also warned that "UNRWA frontline health workers, are surviving on one small meal a day, often just lentils, if at all". Lazzarini said that the agency had "the equivalent of 6,000 loaded trucks of food and medical supplies" ready to send into Gaza if Israel allowed "unrestricted and uninterrupted" access to the territory. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,587 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
More than 100 aid organisations sound alarm over famine in Gaza
More than 100 non-governmental organisations warned of the risk of mass starvation in Gaza on Wednesday, sounding the alarm to allow life-saving food and aid into the Strip. In a joint statement, prominent organisations including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and Oxfam said that as supplies are totally depleted and mass starvation is spreading across the enclave, adding "humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes." The humanitarian organisations point out that food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched just outside, or in some cases inside Gaza, in warehouses. "The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime," the statement added. The organisations are demanding an immediate ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of humanitarian aid under the previous UN-led mechanism. The statement comes exactly two months after the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over aid delivery operations and shortly after the Strip saw its deadliest day for aid-seekers, with at least 85 Palestinians killed trying to access food on Sunday. Since May, more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to access aid have been killed by Israeli forces, mostly near aid sites run by the controversial American contractor, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday. In January, Israel banned the main UN organisation, UNRWA, from delivering aid, accusing Hamas of looting aid without providing evidence. The head of Al-Shifa hospital announced on Tuesday that 21 children died in 72 hours due to malnutrition and starvation, in a scene the UN described as proof that "starvation is knocking on every door." Speaking at a Security Council meeting on Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described the situation in Gaza as a "horror show, with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times." Guterres added that he was appalled UNOPS (UN Office for Project Services) and WHO (World Health Organisation) facilities, including its main warehouse, were struck in Deir al Balah over the weekend. "These premises are inviolable. And must be protected under international humanitarian law without exception," Guterres said. Diplomatic efforts and stalled negotiations Later this week, US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Europe to discuss a range of issues, including Gaza and the push for a ceasefire. Witkoff also plans to visit the Middle East, where the US Envoy has "strong hope" that the US can deliver a ceasefire deal and the establishment of a "humanitarian corridor" to the besieged strip, Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters. Israel is increasingly facing pressure from the international community as the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to drastically deteriorate. Israel's military offensive has now almost reached its 21st month and has left widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, aid and basic amenities.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
More than 100 organisations sound the alarm about famine in Gaza
More than 100 non-governmental organisations warned of the risk of mass starvation in Gaza on Wednesday, sounding the alarm to allow life-saving food and aid into the Strip. In a joint statement, prominent organisations including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and Oxfam said that as supplies are totally depleted and mass starvation is spreading across the enclave, adding "humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes." The humanitarian organisations point out that food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched just outside, or in some cases inside Gaza, in warehouses. "The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime," the statement added. The organisations are demanding an immediate ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of humanitarian aid under the previous UN-led mechanism. The statement comes exactly two months after the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over aid delivery operations and shortly after the Strip saw its deadliest day for aid-seekers, with at least 85 Palestinians killed trying to access food on Sunday. Since May, more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to access aid have been killed by Israeli forces, mostly near aid sites run by the controversial American contractor, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday. In January, Israel banned the main UN organisation, UNRWA, from delivering aid, accusing Hamas of looting aid without providing evidence. The head of Al-Shifa hospital announced on Tuesday that 21 children died in 72 hours due to malnutrition and starvation, in a scene the UN described as proof that "starvation is knocking on every door." Speaking at a Security Council meeting on Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described the situation in Gaza as a "horror show, with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times." Guterres added that he was appalled UNOPS (UN Office for Project Services) and WHO (World Health Organisation) facilities, including its main warehouse, were struck in Deir al Balah over the weekend. "These premises are inviolable. And must be protected under international humanitarian law without exception," Guterres said. Diplomatic efforts and stalled negotiations Later this week, US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Europe to discuss a range of issues, including Gaza and the push for a ceasefire. Witkoff also plans to visit the Middle East, where the US Envoy has "strong hope" that the US can deliver a ceasefire deal and the establishment of a "humanitarian corridor" to the besieged strip, Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters. Israel is increasingly facing pressure from the international community as the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to drastically deteriorate. Israel's military offensive has now almost reached its 21st month and has left widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, aid and basic amenities.
