Palestine

Gaza: Starvation or gunfire — not a humanitarian response

July 1, 2025

JOINT STATEMENT

Oxfam and over 100 other NGOs operating in Gaza call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme (including the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in Gaza, revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies. The 400 aid distribution points operating during the temporary ceasefire across Gaza have now been replaced by just four military-controlled distribution sites, forcing two million people into overcrowded, militarized zones where they face daily gunfire and mass casualties while trying to access food and are denied other life-saving supplies.

Today, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families. The weeks following the launch of the Israeli distribution scheme have been some of the deadliest and most violent since October 2023.

In less than four weeks, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and almost 4,000 injured just trying to access or distribute food. Israeli forces and armed groups – some reportedly operating with backing from Israeli authorities – now routinely open fire on desperate civilians risking everything just to survive.

The humanitarian system is being deliberately and systematically dismantled by the Government of Israel’s blockade and restrictions, a blockade now being used to justify shutting down nearly all other aid operations in favour of a deadly, military-controlled alternative that neither protects civilians nor meets basic needs. These measures are designed to sustain a cycle of desperation, danger, and death. Experienced humanitarian actors remain ready to deliver life-saving assistance at scale. Yet more than 100 days since Israeli authorities reimposed a near-total blockade on aid and commercial goods, Gaza’s humanitarian conditions are collapsing faster than at any point in the past 20 months.

Under the Israeli government’s new scheme, starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race to reach fenced, militarized distribution sites with a single entry point. There, thousands are released into chaotic enclosures to fight for limited food supplies. These areas have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law. Orphaned children and caregivers are among the dead, with children harmed in over half of the attacks on civilians at these sites. With Gaza’s healthcare system in ruins, many of those shot are left to bleed out alone, beyond the reach of ambulances and denied lifesaving medical care.

Amidst severe hunger and famine-like conditions, many families tell us they are now too weak to compete for food rations. Those who do manage to obtain food often return with only a few basic items – nearly impossible to prepare without clean water or fuel to cook with. Fuel is nearly depleted, bringing critical lifesaving services – including bakeries, water systems, ambulances, and hospitals – to a standstill. Families are sheltering under plastic sheets, operating makeshift kitchens amid the rubble, without fuel, clean water, sanitation, or electricity.

This is not a humanitarian response.

Concentrating more than two million people into further confined areas for a chance to feed their families is not a plan to save lives. For 20 months, more than two million people have been subjected to relentless bombardment, the weaponization of food, water and other aid, repeated forced displacement, and systematic dehumanization – all under the watch of the international community. The Sphere Association, which sets minimum standards for quality humanitarian aid, has warned that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s approach does not adhere to core humanitarian standards and principles.

This normalization of suffering must not be allowed to stand. States must reject the false choice between deadly, military-controlled food distributions and total denial of aid. States must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, including prohibitions on forced displacement, indiscriminate attacks, and obstruction of humanitarian aid. States must ensure accountability for grave violations of international law.

We, the undersigned organizations, once again call on all third states to:

Take concrete measures to end the suffocating siege and uphold the right of civilians in Gaza to safely access aid and receive protection.
Urge donors not to fund militarized aid schemes that violate international law, do not adhere to humanitarian principles, deepen harm, and risk complicity in atrocities.
Support the restoration of a unified, UN-led coordination mechanism—grounded in international humanitarian law and inclusive of UNRWA, Palestinian civil society, and the wider humanitarian community—to meet people’s needs.

We reiterate our urgent calls for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, full humanitarian access at scale, and an end to the pervasive impunity that enables these atrocities and denies Palestinians their basic dignity.

The signatories include:

1. American Friends Service Committee

2. Amnesty International

3. Anera

4. Bisan Center for Research and Development

5. Fund for Global Human Rights

6. Islamic Relief Worldwide

7. Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation

8. Médecins du Monde

9. Médecins Sans Frontières

10. MedGlobal

11. Medical Aid for Palestinians

12. Mennonite Central Committee

13. Middle East Children’s Alliance

14. Norwegian People’s Aid

15. Norwegian Refugee Council

16. Oxfam International

17. Pax Christi International

18. Saferworld

19. Save the Children

20. Terres des Hommes Italia

21. War Child

Notes to editors

Please see the full list of signatories here
On 15 June, the Red Cross field hospital in Al Mawasi received at least 170 patients injured while trying to reach a food distribution site. The following day, 16 June, more than 200 patients arrived at the same facility – the highest number recorded in a single mass casualty incident in Gaza. Of that number, 28 Palestinians were declared dead. A WHO official underscored the deadly pattern: “The recent food distribution initiatives by non-UN actors every time result in mass casualty incidents.”
These deaths add to the broader toll: since October 2023, over 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including at least 17,000 children.

Contact information

Media at Oxfam Aotearoa: [email protected]

Oxfam reaction to announcement that Israel will allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza

May 19, 2025

Reacting to the announcement that Israel will allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza, Wassem Mushtaha, Oxfam’s Gaza Response Lead, said:

“While some aid was allowed into Gaza today, it will only be a trickle amongst a sea of need.

“The limited entry of aid into Gaza cannot be mistaken for meaningful progress, especially alongside the expansion of Israel’s brutal bombing campaign across the Gaza Strip. It is not a turning point, but at best a narrow concession that seems to reflect mounting international pressure.

“Oxfam is also concerned about Israel’s plan to take over aid operations. Instead of restoring access, this emerging system centres on restrictive border crossings, military-controlled corridors, and opaque conditions that exclude local and experienced humanitarian organisations and hinder the impartial delivery of aid.”

New Zealand has joined with the European Union and several other countries insisting that the Israeli military allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza immediately. The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK..

Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s Policy lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Gaza, said:

“What is urgently needed is not new obstacles on the ground, but for all crossings to be opened to allow a full and proper humanitarian response, that allows real access, with safe corridors and respect for international humanitarian law, a call mirrored by 22 donor countries and the EU, in a joint statement released earlier today. We must also see an end to the relentless bombing and attacks on Palestinian people, with an urgent and permanent ceasefire, alongside justice and accountability for all.”

Notes to editors

Joint donor statement from 25 aid partners published yesterday.

Contact information

Media at Oxfam Aotearoa: [email protected]

Reaction to Global Report on Food Crises 2025: Oxfam warns of “a world veering off course, starving by design”

May 17, 2025

Today’s “2025 Global Report on Food Crises” (GRFC), led by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), says that 295 million people around the world are now experiencing acute hunger – twice as many as in 2020 and marking the sixth consecutive annual increase.

Reacting to the report, Oxfam Global Food and Economic Security Lead, Emily Farr, said:

“This evidence presents an unflinching picture of a world veering off course. Hunger is no longer just a tragic byproduct of conflict—it is increasingly being wielded as its very weapon. In Gaza, Israel’s bombing campaign, forced displacement, and siege have engineered the conditions for famine, while in Sudan, food stockpiles spoil at the borders while communities starve. These are not failures of logistics or capacity. They are calculated assaults on civilians through starvation by design, in flagrant violation of international law.

“Across the globe, we see the rise of three “lethal Cs”: Cuts, Conflict, and Climate. Together, they’ve fuelled the highest number ever recorded of people experiencing the most severe level of food insecurity. Yet major donor governments continue to gut aid budgets while ramping up military spending and handing tax breaks to billionaires. The world is spending more on bombs than on bread, more on walls than on welfare. The richest grow richer while the poorest are left to starve.

“This is not a resource crisis—it’s a political and moral one. And it can be undone. Donor governments must restore life-saving aid, and all States must unequivocally hold those using starvation as a weapon to account. International Humanitarian Law is not optional. This is a test of global leadership and collective conscience.”

Notes to the Editors:

Read the 2025 GRFC.

According to the 2025 GRFC, 95% of population in IPC Phase 5 are in Gaza and Sudan.

In 2023, global military expenditure reached a record $2.443 trillion, marking the highest annual increase since 2009, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In contrast, the global bread market was valued at approximately $227.4 billion in 2023. This means global military spending was over ten times greater than the global bread market value in 2023.

Contact information

Media at Oxfam Aotearoa: [email protected]

“Let us do our jobs” — Major aid groups in Gaza warn aid system is collapsing

April 18, 2025

After 18 months of war, a staggering toll on civilians and aid workers, and now a six-week total siege, the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is facing total collapse with the CEOs of 12 major aid organisations making an urgent plea: let us do our jobs.

A new humanitarian access survey of 43 international and Palestinian aid organisations working in Gaza found nearly all of them – 95% – have had to suspend or dramatically cut services since the ceasefire ended one month ago on 18 March, with widespread and indiscriminate bombing making it extremely dangerous to move around.

The people of Gaza – particularly women and children – are paying the price. Families are living amongst the rubble of their destroyed homes.  Famine is not just a risk, but likely rapidly unfolding in almost all parts of Gaza. The UN has warned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the worst it has been in 18 months.

Stripped of the means to keep people alive, hospitals have become morgues. More than 51,000 Palestinians have been reported killed. One of the last partially functioning hospitals, Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in northern Gaza, was bombed last Sunday.

“This is one of the worst humanitarian failures of our generation. Every single person in Gaza is relying on humanitarian aid to survive. That lifeline has been completely cut off since a blockade on all aid supplies was imposed by Israeli authorities on 2 March.

“We have supplies ready. We have trained medical staff. We have the expertise. What we don’t have is the access – or the guarantee by Israeli authorities that our teams can safely do their jobs.

“Survival itself is now slipping out of reach and the humanitarian system is at breaking point,” the CEOs of the 12 aid organisations said in their joint statement.

Twenty-four of the surveyed organisations reported increased movement restrictions in Gaza, impeding their ability to deliver aid. Nineteen aid organisations reported having cargo stuck outside Gaza, totaling at least 9,000 pallets of aid supplies.

Gaza now holds the disastrous record of being the deadliest place on earth for humanitarian workers. We cannot operate under fire or stay silent while our staff are killed.

More than 400 aid workers and over 1,300 health workers have been reported killed in Gaza since October 2023, despite the requirement under international humanitarian law for humanitarian workers to be protected.  

The recent killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, whose bodies were found buried in a mass grave triggered global outrage, but many violations and attacks go unreported.

Despite hopes that the eight-week pause in hostilities would become a turning point, the violence against civilians and aid workers has only worsened. Since Israeli forces resumed bombardments, at least 14 organisations reported Israeli fire directly or indirectly hitting their staff or aid facilities.

Every day, aid workers – the majority of whom are Palestinian – are targeted, detained, obstructed or killed. Just as every day, rules meant to protect civilians in war are ignored with impunity.  When our staff and partners, our convoys, our offices, our warehouses are shelled, the message is loud and clear: even lifesaving aid is no longer protected.

This is unacceptable.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have proposed a new authorisation mechanism for the delivery of aid in Gaza that the UN Secretary-General has described as “limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour.” This mechanism would set a dangerous new global precedent and eliminate any remaining space to deliver aid independent of military and political motivations. New NGO visa and registration rules, based on vague criteria, will censor humanitarian reporting and prevent us from fulfilling our mandate. 

We call on all parties to guarantee the safety of our staff and to allow the safe, unfettered access of aid into and across Gaza through all entry points, and for world leaders to oppose further restrictions.

We call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals, schools and shelters and the immediate restoration of basic services – water, electricity, and sanitation as required under international law.

We call for the release of the hostages.

We call for the release of all Palestinians arbitrarily detained.

We call, yet again, resoundingly, for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool. Saving lives should not be controversial. Laws of war developed over centuries to govern conduct and protect civilians should not now be discarded.

Let us do our jobs.

INGER ASHING, CEO, Save the Children International

AMITABH BEHAR, Executive Director, Oxfam International

SEAN CARROLL, President and CEO, Anera

STEVE CUTTS, interim Chief Executive Officer, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)

NICOLAS DOTTA, CEO, Médecins du Monde Spain

JAN EGELAND, Secretary General, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

REENA GHELANI, CEO, Plan International

MANUEL PATROUILLARD, Managing Director, Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International

MORGANE ROUSSEAU, CEO, Médecins du Monde Switzerland

REINTJE VAN HAERINGEN, Chair – Executive Committee, CARE International

JOEL WEILER, CEO, Médecins du Monde France

ROB WILLIAMS, CEO, War Child Alliance

Notes to editors

A new survey of 43 international and Palestinian NGOs working in the Gaza Strip found that 95% of them had either suspended or reduced their services in Gaza since the resumption of bombardment by Israeli forces.
The survey also found that at least 17 NGOs reported delays or denials even during the ceasefire (before the renewed siege on 2 March).
Seven surveyed NGOs reported Israeli fire directly or indirectly hitting their staff or aid facilities.
According to the survey, at least 19 NGOs report having cargo waiting outside of Gaza for entry, including at least 8,881 pallets of aid stuck in Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank and Israel including: supplies for psychosocial support, bedding, hygiene items, hot meal ingredients, school supplies, tents, fire extinguishers, and medicines.
At least 412 aid workers have been reported killed in Gaza since October 2023, as of 9 April. According to the Aid Worker Security Database, at least 61 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since 1 January 2025.

Contact information

[email protected]

Humanitarian operations in Gaza severely hampered; famine risks increasing

March 25, 2025

Restoring ceasefire deal vital as death toll hits 50,000 and continues to rise amid Israeli airstrikes, aid and power blockades and renewed mass forced displacements

Oxfam and partners’ operations have been severely hampered as Israel’s renewed military assault and ground offensive on Gaza continues into its 7th day.

Oxfam is calling for a renewed ceasefire and for Israel to lift its 23-day siege which is again blocking aid supplies and increasing famine risks for desperate civilians. Israel imposed a complete blockade 23 days ago and cut off electricity to Gaza a few days later.

Israeli authorities are denying entry to trucks loaded with 63,000 metric tons of food for 1.1 million people. Operations have been forced to stop in vital areas such as food security and livelihood, as well as hygiene promotion, and essential repair work to damaged water infrastructure.

Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s OPT Policy Lead, said:

“During the 42-day ceasefire families in Gaza could finally fall asleep knowing their loved ones would still be beside them when they woke up. Even though aid that entered was not enough—far from enough—it was something. The price of food stabilized. Supermarkets reopened. Bakeries began running again. Many people even went to their homes or what was left of it, and tried to repair and rebuild, however little they could.”

Humanitarian agencies were able to mount operations that saw an average of more than 4,000 trucks per week entering Gaza despite Israeli authorities initially only partially opening the crossings and denying much of the urgently needed reconstruction materials. Oxfam reached almost 200,000 people with essential relief.

Israel’s renewed bombardment of residential areas, including Jabalia and Khan Younis, has killed almost 700 people, including at least 200 children since March 18. Israeli authorities have issued new mass forced displacement orders, forcing around 120,000 Palestinians to flee. These orders are causing panic and chaos in the absence of anywhere safe in Gaza.

Oxfam says humanitarian operations have been gravely hindered by the absence of guarantees of safety for aid workers moving around Gaza.

Oxfam and its partners say their storage facilities containing food parcels are severely depleted. Israeli authorities have denied access to Oxfam shipments of six desalination units and seven trucks of water and sanitation infrastructure, up to 85% of which has been destroyed by Israel’s bombing campaign.

“Oxfam, through its partners has been able to initiate emergency water trucking across the Gaza Strip, and are maintaining some other aid programs, such as multi-purpose cash transfers, despite the severe challenges that all humanitarian workers now face around lack of protection,” said Khalidi.

“For the past 535 days, Israel has been systematically weaponizing life-saving aid, inflicting collective punishment upon the population of Gaza. The denial of food, water, fuel and electricity is a war crime and a crime against humanity. Many within the international community are enabling this by their silence, inaction and complicity.”

Oxfam’s health partner in Gaza, Juzoor for Health and Social Development, had its center in Jabalia destroyed in an airstrike on March 18. It had been serving over 1,000 patients daily. Dr Umaiyeh Khammash, Director of Juzoor, said: “Every airstrike that hits, threatens the lives and safety of our dedicated staff and the patients they serve. This center is not just a building; it’s the heartbeat of healthcare for countless families here. Without it, many will lose access to crucial medical care.”

In another attack yesterday (March 23), three sewage operators from the Abasan Al Kabira municipality working with Oxfam’s partner Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) were killed while performing their duties when their clearly- marked truck was destroyed in an attack by Israeli military.

A renewed ceasefire must be permanent and accompanied by the safe return of Israeli hostages and illegally detained Palestinian prisoners. Israel must provide unfettered aid at scale. Oxfam said governments must stop transferring arms, while the international community must enforce international law. We reiterate our call for justice and accountability for all those affected.

Notes to editors

Oxfam works with 19 partner organizations in the Gaza Strip. Between 20 January and 28 February 2025, Oxfam reached a total of 181,622 people across the Gaza Strip with water and sanitation services, including repair and reconstruction, protection, multipurpose cash assistance, distribution of food parcels and essential agricultural inputs for recovery, protection, health care and case management.
Since Israel’s breach of the ceasefire and airstrikes on Gaza on 18 March, Oxfam staff movements have been severely restricted in the absence of a notification system. This week, Oxfam’s progammes in Gaza, including those of many partners, have been severely impacted. Oxfam is still able to undertake some water trucking and multipurpose cash distribution, but under high-risk conditions
The fatality rate in Gaza is based on the Palestinian Ministry of Health reporting on 24 March (11AM) and the fatality rate of children is reported by UNICEF on 21 March
Since 2 March, Israeli authorities have re-imposed a total siege, blockading the entire Gaza Strip. It is banning the entry of any humanitarian basic supplies, including water, food, medical supplies and fuel, as well as banning any commercial supplies to enter Gaza.
On 10 March, Israeli authorities cut off electricity supply to the only operational large-scale desalination plant for drinking water. With the exception of that last remaining, intermittent electricity feed to the desalination plant, Gaza has been under an electricity blackout since 11 October 2023.
The current siege is one week longer than in 2023, when the Israeli authorities imposed a total siege that lasted from 7-21 October 2023.
According to the IPC Special Snapshot – September 2024 – April 2025, the risk of Famine between November 2024 and April 2025 persists as long as conflict continues, and humanitarian access is restricted
According to the Palestinian Water Authority, 85% of the water and sanitation infrastructure in Gaza is destroyed as a result of Israel’s bombing campaign.
The UN reported that during the 42-day ceasefire period, a total of 4,000 trucks per week travelled into Gaza, 600,000 people received polio vaccinations and maternity care was provided for 5,000 births.
Satellite images of the Gaza displacement orders, on 18 March, covers an area amounting to 37% of Gaza’s land and double the size of the original buffer zone. This has been reported by Sky News and the figures have been confirmed by the UN. The UN reported on 21 March that more than 120,000 people had fled since the evacuation orders were issued on 18 March.
Denial of Aid – breaches Customary IHL Rule 55; 1977 Additional Protocol II Arts 69-71 and 81; Fourth Geneva Convention 1949, Arts 23,55-63 and 108-111; Rome Statute ICC, Crime Against Humanity of Extermination, Art 7 1(b) “Extermination” includes the intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population.OCHA / WFP food insecurity data, released every tuesday (18 Mar 2025): Most recent OCHA sitrep (18 Mar 2025):
Between 10 and 20 per cent of 4,500 surveyed pregnant and breastfeeding women are malnourished, a recent analysis by the Nutrition Cluster reveals.
To cope with shortages, the Food Security Sector (FSS) partners are drastically reducing food assistance to families, suspending flour distribution to families to prioritize supplies for bakeries, pausing the distribution of fresh produce, and scaling down hot meal preparations at some community kitchens.
FSS warns that over one million people risk being left without food parcels in March, and at least 80 of the 170 community kitchens may be forced to close in one to two weeks, if supplies, including cooking fuel, are not allowed into Gaza. The FSS estimates that more than 50,000 metric tons (MT) of food supplies are required monthly to assist everyone with full rations, in addition to 9,700 MT of flour needed monthly to keep the subsidized bakeries running.
Since the ceasefire took effect on 19 January, and as of 15 March, 4,646 children have enrolled in malnutrition treatment programmes, 672 of whom were diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition.
The Nutrition Cluster notes a decrease in monthly enrolments in such programmes from about 5,000 in the month prior to the ceasefire to a monthly average of 2,500 in Phase One of the ceasefire.
Nutrition Cluster partners observed a rising number of pregnant and breastfeeding women becoming malnourished – between 10 and 20 per cent,
11 March inter-agency mission to eastern Khan Younis found that agricultural facilities had been largely destroyed, including 1,400 dunums of open land,150 greenhouses, 90 poultry farms, and dozens of livestock and dairy cattle farms. The remaining cultivated land did not exceed 70-80 dunums.
Market survey carried out by WFP covering key developments during the first half of March (14th Mar published):
WFP currently has sufficient food stocks to support active kitchens and bakeries for up to one month, as well as ready-to-eat food parcels to support 550,000 people for two weeks.
WFP has approximately 63,000 metric tons of food destined for Gaza, stored or in transit in the region. This is equivalent to two to three months of distributions for 1.1 million people, pending authorization to enter Gaza.
Traders have begun withholding goods due to uncertainty over when new supplies will arrive.

Oxfam reaction to Israel’s attack on Gaza despite ceasefire

March 19, 2025

Reacting to Israeli strikes on Gaza, Clémence Lagouardat, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Gaza, said:

“It is indefensible that Israel has breached the ceasefire agreement by carrying out airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, killing over 300 people and injuring hundreds. The ongoing targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure cannot be justified under any circumstances.

“The ceasefire glimmer of hope should have been protected for the two million people trying to survive in terrible conditions across Gaza and for the remaining Israeli hostages.

“Israeli authorities have also ordered new evacuations across Gaza forcing civilians—who have already been displaced multiple times—to flee again with no safe place to go to. These forced displacement orders are violating international law.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic. Since the start of the month, which was also the beginning of Ramadan, Israel placed Gaza under a full siege, cutting off food, fuel and all humanitarian aid. One week ago, it cut electricity to Gaza’s main operational desalination plant that supplied clean water to around 500,000 people. Meanwhile, Gaza’s already collapsing medical system is struggling to absorb the rising number of casualties. Hospitals are low on supplies and ambulances are unable to reach the wounded.

“This crisis persists due to the international community’s failure to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. This must end. International law is not optional, nor is it selective—it exists to protect all civilians, everywhere, and must be upheld universally.

“All parties must now work to restore a permanent and sustainable ceasefire for all Palestinians and Israelis.”