Starvation or Gunfire: This is Not a Humanitarian Response

160+ NGOs 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The 400 aid distribution points operating during the temporary ceasefire across Gaza have now been replaced by just four military-controlled distribution sites, forcing two million people into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. 

Undersigned:​

ABCD Bethlehem, ACT Alliance, Act Church of Sweden, Action contre la Faim (ACF), Action Corps, ActionAid, Age International, Agricultural Development Association – PARC, Al Ard for Agricultural Development, Al-Najd Developmental Forum, American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International, Amos Trust, Anera, Anti-Slavery International, Arab Educational Institute – Pax Christi Bethlehem, Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz, Asociación de Solidaridad Internacional UNADIKUM, Association for Civil Rights Israel (ACRI), Association Switzerland Palestine, B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Beesan Charitable Association, Bimkom – Planning and Human Rights, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Botswana Watch Organisation, Breaking the Silence, Broederlijk Delen, CADUS e.V., Caritas Germany, Caritas International Belgium, Caritas Internationalis, Caritas Jerusalem, Caritas Middle East and North Africa, Center of Jewish Nonviolence, CESIDA – Spanish Coordinator of HIV and AIDS., Children Not Numbers, Choose Love, Christian Aid, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), CIDSE – International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations, CNCD-11.11.11, codepink, Combatants for Peace, Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe, Congregations of St Joseph, COOPERATIVE AGRICULUTAL ASSOCIATION, Cordaid, Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu), Coventry Friends of Palestine, Cultures of Resistance, DanChurchAid, Danish Refugee Council, DAWN, Diakonia, Ekō, Embrace the Middle East, Emmaüs International, Entraide et Fraternité, Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Justice Network, EuroMed Rights, FÓRUM DE POLÍTICA FEMINISTA, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), Fund for Global Human Rights, Fundación Mundubat, Gaza Culture and Development Group (GCDG), Gaza Society for Sustainable Agriculture and Friendly Environment (SAFE), German Platform of Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs (VENRO), Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Glia, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P), Greenpeace, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Hands for Charity, HEKS/EPER(Swiss Church Aid), HelpAge International, Human Security Collective, Humanité Solidarité Médecine (HuSoMe ONG), Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International, Humanity Above All, INARA, Independent Catholic News, Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), INTERSOS, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Jewish Network for Palestine, Jüdische Stimme für Demokratie und Gerechtigkeit in Israel/Palästina, JVJP, Just Foreign Policy, Just Treatment, Kairos Ireland, Kenya Human Rights Commission, Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Martin Etxea Elkartea, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Médecins du Monde International Network, Médecins Sans Frontières, MedGlobal, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Medico International, medico international schweiz, Medicos sin fronteras (MSF – Spain), Mennonite Central Committee, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Mothers Manifesto, MPower Change Action Fund, Muslim Aid, Mwatana for Human Rights, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian People’s Aid, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam International, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA), Parents Against Child Detentions, Partners for Palestine, Partners for Progressive Israel, PAX, Pax Christi Australia, Pax Christi England and Wales, Pax Christi International, Pax Christi Italy, pax christi Munich, Pax Christi Scotland, Pax Christi USA, Peace Direct, Peace Watch Switzerland, Penny Appeal Canada, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, Plan International, Plataforma de Solidaridad con Palestina de Sevilla, Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine, Polish-Palestinian Justice Initiative KAKTUS, Première Urgence Internationale, Presbyterian Church (USA), Quixote Center, Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary – NGO, ReThinking Foreign Policy, Right to Movement, Rumbo a Gaza-Freedom Flotilla, Saferworld, Saskatoon Chapter of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Save the Children, Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team, Solsoc, Stichting Heimat International Foundation, STOPAIDS, Støtteforeningen Det Danske Hus i Palæstina, Terre des Hommes International Federation, Terre des hommes Lausanne, Terres des Hommes Italia, The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD UK), The Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church USA Bay Area, The Rights Forum, Union of Agricultural Work Committees-UAWC, United Against Inhumanity (UAI), Universities Allied for Essential Medicines UK, US-Lutheran Palestine Israel Justice Network, Vento di Terra, War Child Alliance, War on Want, Welthungerhilfe, et Yesh Din.