26 Foreign Ministers Call for New Flood of Aid to Gaza, Amid Famine Concerns

Foreign ministers from 26 countries and representatives of the European Union raised a new call for the Israeli government to ease restrictions and for the international community to ramp up aid deliveries into the embattled Gaza Strip.

“The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation. Humanitarian space must be protected, and aid should never be politicized,” they said in the Aug. 12 joint statement.

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK signed onto the joint statement.

In their statement, the signatories raised concerns that, rather than facilitating the necessary aid, the Israeli government has imposed new registration requirements that could force international aid organizations “to leave the [Occupied Palestinian Territories] imminently,” referring to Gaza and the West Bank. The signatories called for the Israeli government to reverse course and authorize international aid organizations to operate within these territories and bring in aid shipments.

“All crossings and routes must be used to allow a flood of aid into Gaza—including food, nutrition supplies, shelter, fuel, clean water, medicine, and medical equipment,” the signatories stated.

Humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza have faced a variety of challenges since the start of the current Israel–Hamas conflict, which began after Hamas attacked across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, leaving more than 700 civilians and about 380 Israeli security forces dead, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.

On March 2, Israel imposed a new blockade on Gaza, cutting off food, fuel, and medicine in a bid to pressure Hamas into releasing its remaining hostages. The Israeli government eased up on the blockade on May 18, amid international pressure.

By the end of May, Israel had prepared a new model for aid delivery that would diminish the role of the United Nations and other established aid organizations in favor of the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has served as a leading international humanitarian agency for the Palestinian community for decades. More recently, the Israeli government has raised concerns that Hamas has heavily infiltrated and compromised the U.N. agency.

UNRWA investigated 19 of its staff over alleged ties to Hamas and the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The organization dismissed nine staffers over possible Hamas links, determined that no evidence existed for accusations against one of the staff members, and said the evidence against the remaining nine was insufficient.

GHF has seen a growing role in the humanitarian aid mission for Gaza as UNRWA’s role has diminished. But GHF—a U.S.-backed, Israeli-initiated organization—has faced its own share of criticism.

Jake Wood, a U.S. Marine veteran, served as executive director for GHF until he resigned on May 25, after raising doubts about the organization’s ability to maintain “humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence” in its efforts.

Anthony Aguilar, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who worked for a security subcontractor supporting GHF, has also raised concerns recently that Israeli forces and GHF security contractors were using gunfire—instead of signage and bullhorns—as a means to direct crowds of hungry aid seekers, leading to unnecessary civilian deaths.

The Israeli military has acknowledged firing weapons near GHF aid sites. GHF, on the other hand, has accused Aguilar of falsifying his accounts of his experiences at the aid sites and said the retired Army officer was fired for misconduct. Aguilar has disputed the claims of his dismissal.

Toward the end of the Aug. 12 joint statement, the signatories wrote, “Lethal force must not be used at distribution sites, and civilians, humanitarians and medical workers must be protected.”

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump also called for a reprioritization of aid to Gaza.

“Some of those kids are—that’s real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can’t fake that,” Trump said during a July 28 news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “So we’re going to be even more involved.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his government’s handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza at an Aug. 10 news conference, noting that Israel has allowed 2 million tons of aid to enter Gaza since the start of the current conflict and has sent warning messages directing civilians to get out of harm’s way throughout the fighting.

“If we had a starvation policy, no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war,” Netanyahu told reporters.

Evgenia Filimianova contributed to this report.