More than 100 aid groups urge immediate ceasefire and unrestricted access as civilians endure physical and psychological devastation.
A coalition of 111 humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children, and Oxfam, issued a dire warning on Wednesday that “mass starvation” is spreading across Gaza. The urgent statement comes ahead of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s planned talks in Europe and potentially the Middle East to discuss a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors.
Despite Israel easing a two-month-long blockade in late May, the delivery of essential aid remains critically obstructed. Aid groups claim that massive warehouses filled with food and medical supplies sit untouched at Gaza’s borders — and even within the enclave — due to access restrictions. According to the UN, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to reach food aid since the Israel- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations, sidelining existing UN-led efforts.
In their collective statement, the organizations described a harrowing “cycle of hope and heartbreak,” where Palestinians cling to the promise of aid or ceasefire announcements, only to face worsening conditions the next day. “It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage,” they said. Aid workers are calling for an immediate, negotiated ceasefire, the full opening of all land crossings, and a return to UN-led aid distribution mechanisms.
Ceasefire Talks Stalled as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
Ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, ongoing in Doha since July 6 and brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S., have yielded no breakthroughs. As talks stall, Gaza’s civilian population faces catastrophic consequences. The head of Gaza’s largest hospital reported that 21 children have died from malnutrition and starvation within just three days.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the current situation in Gaza as a humanitarian “horror” of unprecedented proportions. After nearly 21 months of relentless conflict, over two million people in Gaza face severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. The Palestinian Health Ministry estimates that more than 50,000 people — mostly civilians — have been killed by Israel’s ongoing military campaign.
Despite widespread international appeals, including those from over two dozen Western nations calling for an immediate end to hostilities, meaningful progress remains elusive. The humanitarian community warns that time is running out and that lives continue to hang in the balance due to inaction and shifting political priorities.
