Over 100 NGOs warn that 'mass starvation' is rapidly spreading throughout Gaza

Over 100 aid organisations issued a stark warning on Wednesday that “mass starvation” is sweeping through Gaza, as the U.S. prepares to send a top envoy to Europe for talks on a potential ceasefire and humanitarian corridor.

Israel is facing escalating global pressure over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than two million people are enduring acute shortages of food and essentials following 21 months of war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack.

According to the UN, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while attempting to access food aid since the launch of the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in late May — a mechanism that has effectively sidelined the UN-led aid system.

In a joint statement signed by 111 humanitarian groups, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children, and Oxfam, the organisations said: “Our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away.” They called for an immediate ceasefire, the reopening of all land crossings, and the restoration of unhindered aid access under UN leadership.

The warning came as the U.S. announced that its envoy, Steve Witkoff, would travel to Europe this week for talks on Gaza and may later head to the region. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Witkoff would carry “a strong hope” for securing a new ceasefire and humanitarian corridor agreed upon by both sides.

Despite Israel easing its blockade in late May, Gaza’s population remains in dire straits, with widespread deprivation continuing. Israel insists it is facilitating aid deliveries and accuses Hamas of manipulating the crisis by stealing supplies and targeting civilians waiting for assistance.

The aid groups’ statement described a grim picture: warehouses full of aid stuck just outside Gaza or inaccessible within its borders. “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.”

They further warned that humanitarian operations cannot function on “false promises” or wait for political pledges that fail to guarantee safe access.

On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the suffering in Gaza as a “horror” unmatched in recent years.

The director of Gaza’s largest hospital reported that 21 children had died from starvation and malnutrition over just three days.

Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas — ongoing in Doha since July 6 — have stalled, despite efforts by mediators Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S.

More than two dozen Western nations have recently called for an immediate end to the war, stating that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has reached “unimaginable depths.”

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s military offensive has killed 59,106 people, mostly civilians. Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault on Israel left 1,219 dead, also mostly civilians, based on an AFP tally of official figures.