Over a hundred charitable and human rights organizations demand immediate intervention as famine expands within Gaza
In the heart of the Middle East, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen, with a dire situation unfolding in mid-2025. The ongoing conflict and severe restrictions on aid delivery have led to a crisis of hunger and malnutrition, especially among children and pregnant women.
Aid workers, including those from Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Refugees International, are joining food lines in Gaza, risking their lives to feed their families. Tragically, nearly 800 people have been killed in recent weeks, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers, as they attempted to reach food supplies.
The Israeli forces have been accused of imposing a siege and blockade that has severely limited humanitarian access. As a result, tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, and other essential items are sitting untouched outside Gaza, unable to reach those in need. The Norwegian Refugee Council's aid stocks are completely depleted in Gaza, and some of its staff are now starving.
The situation is so dire that, for the first time since the war began, Palestinians are now dying of hunger in Gaza. Acute malnutrition among children under five has more than doubled since March 2025, and malnutrition-related deaths have surged. Over 40% of pregnant and breastfeeding women are classified as severely malnourished.
International organizations, including the United Nations and Amnesty International, have publicly condemned Israel’s restriction policies, describing them as deliberate actions creating conditions of life incompatible with continued existence in Gaza, amounting to collective punishment and potentially genocidal acts by starving the population.
Calls for immediate lifting of all restrictions on aid, the facilitation of safe and dignified humanitarian access, and the urgent scaling-up of nutrition and medical supply deliveries have been strongly emphasized by the World Health Organization, UNRWA, and other humanitarian actors. Over 100 aid and rights groups have called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The organizations also call for all land crossings to be opened, access to everyone across Gaza to be ensured, and for the rejection of military-controlled distribution. They urge states to pursue concrete measures to end the siege, such as halting the transfer of weapons and ammunition. The groups further call for a restoration of a "principled, UN-led humanitarian response" in Gaza.
Israel denies responsibility for the shortages of food in Gaza, claiming that its new measures, imposed when it lifted the blockade on Gaza in May, are intended to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups. However, the organizations argue that these measures are causing undue hardship for the civilian population.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the United States, has been fiercely criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for an alleged lack of neutrality. The foundation's actions have been described as contributing to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In summary, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in mid-2025 is characterized by extensive civilian casualties and displacement, severe food insecurity and rising malnutrition, restrictive Israeli-imposed siege and blockade severely limiting aid workers’ access and humanitarian supply deliveries, and international calls for an immediate ceasefire, lifting of restrictions, and sustained humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering and prevent further deaths. This crisis requires urgent global attention and action.
[1] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Gaza Situation Report No. 21 (2025) [2] Amnesty International, Israel/Gaza: The Gaza blockade: collective punishment and violation of international humanitarian law (2023) [3] World Health Organization, Gaza: Nutrition Situation Report (2025) [4] United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Gaza Emergency Appeal (2025)
- The crisis in Gaza has resulted in a dire situation, with malnutrition surging, particularly among children and pregnant women, as highlighted in the Gaza Situation Report No. 21 (2025) by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
- The Norwegian Refugee Council's aid stocks are depleted in Gaza, and some of its staff are now starving, as food, clean water, medical supplies, and other essential items remain untouched outside Gaza due to Israeli restrictions, as reported in the Gaza Emergency Appeal (2025) by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
- The World Health Organization has emphasized the need for immediate scaling-up of nutrition and medical supply deliveries, and a principled, UN-led humanitarian response in Gaza, as described in the Gaza: Nutrition Situation Report (2025).
- The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has led to international condemnation of Israel’s restriction policies, with organizations such as Amnesty International describing them as deliberate actions creating conditions of life incompatible with continued existence in Gaza, amounting to collective punishment and potentially genocidal acts by starving the population, as discussed in Amnesty International's report Israel/Gaza: The Gaza blockade: collective punishment and violation of international humanitarian law (2023).
