UN Relief Chief calls for Gaza ceasefire as starvation spreads

25 July 2025

OCHA warns once again that conditions on the ground in Gaza are already catastrophic and deteriorating fast – with death, displacement and destruction continuing to be reported as a result of ongoing Israeli military operations.

The starvation crisis is deepening across the Strip. Hunger and malnutrition increase the risk of illnesses that weaken the immune system, especially among women, children, older people, and those with disabilities or chronic diseases. The consequences can turn deadly fast. Food scarcity is also having a severe impact on pregnant and breastfeeding women, as their babies are more likely to be born with health complications. It affects mothers’ ability to breastfeed, putting children at increased risk of infectious diseases.

Life is being drained out of Gaza, as systems and services are on the verge of collapse. Just yesterday, the local health authorities announced that two more people died from starvation. In the meantime, the trickle of supplies that are making it into the Strip are nowhere near adequate to address the immense needs.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, warned that Gaza is starving and called for a ceasefire now. “We must save as many lives as we can – and we have a plan,” he said in a social media post yesterday. Mr. Fletcher shared that plan with Member States. It outlines the steps necessary to stop the horror, as well as the constraints placed on humanitarian operations in Gaza and the UN’s proposed solutions to resolve them.

UN teams are in place to ramp up delivery as soon as they are allowed to do so. Their supplies – which have been paid for by the world – are ready to move. During the last ceasefire, tens of thousands of truckloads entered Gaza, with food aid reaching nearly every single person in the Strip.

What is missing right now is safe, sustained access. Aid workers face constant danger, crossings are unreliable, and critical items are routinely blocked. If Israel opens the crossings, lets fuel and equipment in, and allows humanitarian staff to operate safely, the UN will accelerate the delivery of food aid, health services, clean water and waste management, nutrition supplies, and shelter materials. Ensuring these elements are in place will be critical to scaling up assistance in the event of a ceasefire.

However, right now, various constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid delivery continue to hamper humanitarians’ ability to respond. One aid agency provided a recent example of a mission which faced multiple obstacles on its way to bring supplies to the agency’s warehouse. The convoy was loaded and ready to depart Kerem Shalom at 9:39 a.m. that morning. Only at 6:16 p.m. in the evening was the team informed by the Israeli authorities that they would have to use a different route than the one originally planned.

The team also had to change the warehouse where the supplies would be dropped off, as the original site came under displacement orders the same day. The mission finally ended close to midnight, nearly 19 hours after it began. OCHA reiterates that humanitarian actors must be enabled to deliver aid safely and efficiently.

As access constraints continue, yesterday – out of 15 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza – four were outright denied, with another three impeded. One was postponed, and two others had to be canceled by the organizers. Only five missions were facilitated, including the pickup of cargo from the crossings and the transfer of fuel.

The quantities of fuel entering Gaza remain insufficient to maintain critical facilities. The limited amount of fuel received yesterday has been fully allocated to support community kitchens, healthcare, and water and sanitation facilities.

Meanwhile, the Under-Secretary-General has written a letter to the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

In it, Mr. Fletcher reiterated that the UN stands ready to engage with any partner to ensure that desperately needed humanitarian aid reaches people in Gaza.

However, he stressed that any such partnership must adhere to the globally accepted principles of humanity, impartiality neutrality and independence. This means that aid must go where needs are greatest and without discrimination, and that humanitarians answer to civilians in need, not the warring parties. These principles are vital to fostering the community acceptance and trust that underpin effective humanitarian action.

Mr. Fletcher said he welcomes dialogue on how to reach as any people as possible and alleviate widespread suffering – without causing harm.