---
title: "Gaza: Starvation or Gunfire – This is Not a Humanitarian Response"
slug: "gaza-starvation-or-gunfire-this-is-not-a-humanitarian-response"
post_type: "post"
published_at: "2025-07-01T17:08:37+01:00"
modified_at: "2025-07-03T16:09:34+01:00"
author: "CIHRS"
url: "https://cihrs.org/gaza-starvation-or-gunfire-this-is-not-a-humanitarian-response/?lang=en"
category:
  - "Arab Countries"
  - "International Advocacy Program"
causes_and_rights:
  - "Protection of Civilians"
country:
  - "Palestine"
field:
  - "Regional and International Protection and Advocacy"
interest:
  - "Statements and Positions"
---

# Gaza: Starvation or Gunfire - This is Not a Humanitarian Response

200+ 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 The 400 aid distribution points operating during the temporary ceasefire across Gaza have now been replaced by just four military-controlled distribution sites, forcing two million people into overcrowded, militarized zones where they face daily gunfire and mass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](https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-297-gaza-strip) and almost 4,000 injured just trying to access or distribute food. Israeli forces and armed groups - some reportedly operating with [backing](https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-providing-guns-to-gaza-jihadist-gang-to-bolster-opposition-to-hamas/) from Israeli authorities - now routinely [open fire on desperate civilians](https://www.unognewsroom.org/story/en/2691/gaza-update-ohchr) 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](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-27/ty-article-magazine/.premium/idf-soldiers-ordered-to-shoot-deliberately-at-unarmed-gazans-waiting-for-humanitarian-aid/00000197-ad8e-de01-a39f-ffbe33780000?utm_source=App_Share&utm_medium=iOS_Native) in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law. Orphaned children and caregivers are among the dead, with children harmed in over [half](https://www.savethechildren.net/news/its-death-trap-children-killed-or-injured-half-fatal-food-distributions-gaza-month) 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](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/22/how-one-man-barely-escaped-alive-after-trying-to-reach-ghf-food-hub-in-gaza) 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](https://spherestandards.org/misrepresentation-of-the-sphere-handbook-by-the-gaza-humanitarian-foundation/) 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. **Background**- On [15 June](https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164471), 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](https://www.ochaopt.org/content/reported-impact-snapshot-gaza-strip-25-june-2025) in Gaza, including at least 17,000 children.
 
 **Signatories:**1. ABCD Bethlehem
2. Abriendo Fronteras Guadalajara
3. ACT Alliance
4. Act Church of Sweden
5. Action Against Hunger (ACF)
6. Action Corps
7. Action for Humanity
8. ActionAid
9. Age International
10. Agricultural Development Association - PARC
11. Al Ard for Agricultural Development
12. Al-Najd Developmental Forum
13. American Friends Service Committee
14. Americares
15. Amnesty International
16. Amos Trust
17. Anera
18. Anti-Slavery International
19. Arab Educational Institute - Pax Christi Bethlehem
20. Arbeitskreis Palästina Brühl-Battir
21. Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz
22. Asociación de Solidaridad Internacional UNADIKUM
23. Association for Civil Rights Israel (ACRI)
24. Association Switzerland Palestine
25. B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
26. BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
27. Beesan Charitable Association
28. Bimkom - Planning and Human Rights
29. Bisan Center for Research and Development
30. Botswana Watch Organisation
31. Breaking the Silence
32. Broederlijk Delen
33. CADUS e.V.
34. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
35. Campaign Against Misrepresentation in Public Affairs Information and the News (CAMPAIN)
36. CARE
37. Caritas Germany
38. Caritas International Belgium
39. Caritas Internationalis
40. Caritas Italiana
41. Caritas Jerusalem
42. Caritas Middle East and North Africa
43. Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)
44. Center of Jewish Nonviolence
45. CESIDA - Spanish Coordinator of HIV and AIDS.
46. Children Not Numbers
47. Choose Love
48. Christian Aid
49. Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
50. CIDSE - International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations
51. CISS- Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud
52. CNCD-11.11.11
53. codepink
54. Coletivo Shireen Abu Akleh - Jornalistas Contra o Genocídio Shireen (Abu Akleh Collective - Journalists Against Genocide)
55. Combatants for Peace
56. Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe
57. Congregations of St Joseph
58. Cooperative Agricultural Association - Palestine
59. Coordination SUD
60. Cordaid
61. Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu)
62. Courage of Care Coalition
63. Coventry Friends of Palestine
64. Cultures of Resistance
65. DanChurchAid
66. Danish Refugee Council
67. DAWN
68. Diakonia
69. Doctors Against Genocide
70. Ekō
71. Embrace the Middle East
72. EMERGENCY - Life Support for Civilian War Victims
73. Emmaüs International
74. Entraide et Fraternité
75. Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Justice Network
76. EuroMed Rights
77. EyeWitnessGaza
78. FÓRUM DE POLÍTICA FEMINISTA
79. Franciscans international
80. Freedom Forward
81. Friends Committee on National Legislation
82. Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)
83. Fund for Global Human Rights
84. Fundación Mundubat
85. Gaza Culture and Development Group (GCDG)
86. Gaza Society for Sustainable Agriculture and Friendly Environment (SAFE)
87. German Platform of Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs (VENRO)
88. Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement
89. Glia
90. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)
91. Global Justice Now
92. Greenpeace
93. HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual
94. Hands for Charity
95. Health Justice Initiative - South Africa
96. HEKS/EPER(Swiss Church Aid)
97. HelpAge International
98. Human Security Collective
99. Humanité Solidarité Médecine (HuSoMe ONG)
100. Humanitet
101. Humanity & Inclusion - Handicap International
102. Humanity Above All
103. Humanity Auxilium
104. Humanity First UK
105. INARA
106. Independent Catholic News
107. Indiana Center for Middle East Peace
108. Initiatives et Changement
109. Insecurity Insight
110. Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Loreto Generalate
111. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
112. International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO)
113. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)
114. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) - Germany
115. INTERSOS
116. Ir Amim
117. Islamic Relief Worldwide
118. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD UK)
119. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - Germany
120. J’ai Rêvé foundation
121. Jahalin Solidarity
122. Jewish Network for Palestine
123. Jüdische Stimme für Demokratie und Gerechtigkeit in Israel/Palästina, JVJP
124. Just Foreign Policy
125. Just Treatment
126. Kairos Ireland
127. Kenya Human Rights Commission
128. Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
129. Machsomwatch
130. Mai Indifferenti
131. Martin Etxea Elkartea
132. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
133. Médecins du Monde International Network
134. Médecins Sans Frontières
135. MedGlobal
136. Medical Aid for Palestinians
137. Medico International
138. medico international schweiz
139. MENA Rights Group
140. Mennonite Central Committee
141. Mercy Corps
142. Middle East Children’s Alliance
143. Migrant Roots Media
144. Mothers Manifesto
145. MPower Change Action Fund
146. Muslim Aid
147. Mwatana for Human Rights
148. National Justice and Peace Network E&W
149. Netzwerk Ökumenisches Begleitprogramm in Palästina und Israel in Deutschland e.V. (EAPPI Netzwerk))
150. Nonviolent Peaceforce
151. Norwegian Church Aid
152. Norwegian People’s Aid
153. Norwegian Refugee Council
154. Oxfam International
155. Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
156. Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
157. Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA)
158. Palestinian Housing Council
159. Parents Against Child Detentions
160. Partners for Palestine
161. Partners for Progressive Israel
162. PAX
163. Pax Christi Australia
164. Pax Christi England and Wales
165. Pax Christi Flanders
166. Pax Christi International
167. Pax Christi Italy
168. pax christi Munich
169. Pax Christi Scotland
170. Pax Christi USA
171. Peace Direct
172. Peace Watch Switzerland
173. Penny Appeal Canada
174. Physicians for Human Rights Israel
175. Plan International
176. Plataforma de Solidaridad con Palestina de Sevilla
177. Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine
178. Polish-Palestinian Justice Initiative KAKTUS
179. Première Urgence Internationale
180. Presbyterian Church (USA)
181. Quixote Center
182. Refugees International
183. Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary - NGO
184. ReThinking Foreign Policy
185. Right to Movement
186. Rumbo a Gaza-Freedom Flotilla
187. Saferworld
188. Saskatoon Chapter of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
189. Save the Children
190. Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund
191. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas - Justice Team
192. Solsoc
193. Stichting Heimat International Foundation
194. STOPAIDS
195. Støtteforeningen Det Danske Hus i Palæstina
196. Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS)
197. Terre des Hommes Germany
198. Terre des Hommes International Federation
199. Terre des Hommes Lausanne
200. Terres des Hommes Italia
201. The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET)
202. The Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church USA Bay Area
203. The Rights Forum
204. Union of Agricultural Work Committees-UAWC
205. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
206. United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR)
207. United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI)
208. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines UK
209. US-Lutheran Palestine Israel Justice Network
210. Vento di Terra
211. War Child Alliance
212. War on Want
213. Welthungerhilfe
214. Yesh Din