site.btaHumanitarian Groups Warn of Mass Starvation in Gaza as Aid Remains Blocked, Call for Urgent Action

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels and over 100 humanitarian organizations are calling for an immediate ceasefire and the lifting of the blockade, Amnesty International Bulgaria says in a press release Wednesday. Despite tons of food, water, medicine, shelter materials, and fuel sitting untouched in and around Gaza, aid agencies remain unable to access those in need due to Israeli-imposed restrictions, Amnesty says.

This organization is among the 109 signatories to the declaration.

"The humanitarian system led by the UN, did not fail but has been prevented from functioning," it says further.

According to UN data cited in the press release, at least 875 Palestinians had been killed by July 13 while seeking food - some at distribution points, others along aid delivery routes. Israeli forces have forcibly displaced nearly 2 million people, with the latest mass evacuation order issued on July 20, pushing civilians into less than 12% of Gaza's territory.

"Putting to starvation civilians as an instrument of war is a war crime," Amnesty Bulgaria says.

Aid workers themselves are now facing hunger, and some have died from starvation. The World Food Programme has warned it can no longer operate under current conditions. “Each day without sustained aid access means more people dying from hunger and preventable diseases,” the press release reads.

The signatories are urging governments to go beyond symbolic gestures like airdrops or partial aid deals and take concrete steps: open all land crossings, lift bureaucratic restrictions, end the siege, and restore a UN-led humanitarian response. Without immediate action, they warn, the humanitarian system will collapse entirely, and the lives of civilians - especially children - will be lost.