More than 100 international aid organizations, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Save the Children, and Oxfam, issued a joint statement warning of mass starvation in Gaza. They report that colleagues and the people they serve are "wasting away" due to a severe lack of food, medicine, and fuel resulting from the Israeli blockade, imposed in March and tightened after a resumed military offensive in October 2023. The Hamas-run health ministry reported 43 malnutrition deaths since Sunday, with the UN noting widespread exhaustion and collapse from hunger. The organizations cite the Israeli military's killing of over 1,050 Palestinians attempting to access food since May 27th as a significant impediment.

The humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by the blockade's impact on aid distribution. Only an average of 28 lorry loads of aid are reaching Gaza daily, with significant quantities of supplies remaining inaccessible due to bureaucratic restrictions, military zones, damaged infrastructure, and criminal activity. The UN reports that a quarter of Gaza's population faces famine-like conditions, with almost 100,000 women and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Doctors describe record rates of acute malnutrition and the spread of illnesses like acute watery diarrhoea. Prices of basic goods have skyrocketed, leaving most families unable to afford food. The organizations demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire, removal of restrictions, and a return to a UN-led humanitarian response. Israel rejects the organizations' claims, accusing them of serving Hamas propaganda.

Impact Statement: The ongoing blockade and mass starvation in Gaza constitute a major humanitarian crisis demanding urgent international intervention. The situation threatens widespread death and instability in the region.