News and aid organizations demand Israel act to end starvation in Gaza

Israel announced a daily "tactical pause" in military operations across three critical areas of the Gaza Strip, a move intended to facilitate the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid.

The 10-hour daily cessation of hostilities, spanning Muwasi, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City, responds to intensifying international pressure. It addresses growing alarm over a deepening humanitarian crisis, including widespread starvation. The adjustment, effective from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, aims to create a crucial window for aid distribution into the besieged territory.

"As the world is witnessing, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is devastating. One in three people in Gaza hasn’t eaten for days. People are being shot just trying to get food to feed their families. Children are wasting away. This is what we face on the ground right now," said Tom Fletcher, the U.N.'s undersecretary-general  for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"We welcome Israel’s decision to support a one-week scale-up of aid, including lifting customs barriers on food, medicine and fuel from Egypt and the reported designation of secure routes for U.N. humanitarian convoys," Fletcher, who heads the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said on Sunday. "Some movement restrictions appear to have been eased today, with initial reports indicating that over 100 truckloads were collected. This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis."

The operational shift in Gaza followed the Israeli military's interception of an aid vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, carrying both activists and journalists, on Saturday in international waters, about 40 nautical miles from Gaza.

All 21 people aboard were detained and the ship's cargo, which included essential supplies such as baby formula, food, and medicine, was seized. The coalition characterized the interception as "violent," asserting the ship was bound for territorial waters off Palestine, not Israel.

The developments underscored the persistent tension between Israel's stated security imperatives and urgent international demands, including unhindered humanitarian access and the media freedom needed to allow the world to understand the full scope of the conflict's human toll.

Leading news organizations have amplified their concerns. The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and the BBC collectively issued a joint statement on Thursday expressing "desperate concern" for their journalists in Gaza.

Local staff, they reported, are increasingly struggling to secure food for themselves and their families. These media entities, whose personnel serve as the "world's eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza," now confront the same dire conditions as the broader population. The groups urged Israeli authorities to permit the free movement of journalists and ensure adequate food supplies reach the territory, noting explicitly that their employees face "the threat of starvation."

New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists went further, accusing Israel of "starving Gazan journalists into silence." Sara Qudah, CPJ's regional director, emphasized the reporters are "frontline witnesses" in a conflict largely inaccessible to independent international media. She said they have been "abandoned as international media were pulled out and denied entry."

Separately, Al Jazeera Media Network called for global action to protect journalists in Gaza and highlighted their struggle for survival amid what it described as a deliberate targeting campaign by Israel, an accusation Israel denied.

Seeking a ceasefire, not only a pause

Since the conflict's onset in Oct. 2023, Israel has largely maintained a ban on independent international media access to Gaza. Limited exceptions have been granted for military-escorted tours, operating under strict censorship.

This policy has placed a substantial burden on Palestinian journalists. They operate under extreme and perilous conditions, frequently losing family members and homes, and facing constant threats. Reporters Without Borders reported in early July that over 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began, making it one of the deadliest conflicts for media professionals in modern history.

Humanitarian organizations continue to issue stark warnings regarding the escalating food crisis. Over 100 charity and human rights groups assert that Israel's blockade and ongoing military operations are actively pushing Palestinians in Gaza towards mass starvation.

The World Food Program described Gaza's hunger crisis as having reached "new and astonishing levels of desperation." Compounding the tragedy, nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. The U.N. reported over 1,000 Palestinians attempting to get food have been killed since late May, mostly near distribution sites.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has advocated strongly for immediate aid access. Its communications director, Juliette Touma, questioned the efficacy of scattered airdrops compared to the more substantial delivery capacity of trucks through border crossings. UNRWA reportedly has the equivalent of 6,000 aid trucks awaiting clearance to enter Gaza, a volume that could significantly alleviate the crisis.

Israeli officials maintain humanitarian aid is being permitted into Gaza and attribute distribution challenges to Hamas, accusing the group of exploiting civilian suffering and diverting supplies. This includes stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid.

Reports of widespread starvation have been dismissed as a "false campaign promoted by Hamas." Officials assert the U.N. and other aid agencies are failing in their distribution responsibilities. An Israeli government spokesman, David Mercer, said in December that most journalists within Gaza operate "under the auspices of Hamas," suggesting free reporting is not possible until it is dismantled.

Despite Israel's recent operational pause, humanitarian organizations stress that a comprehensive ceasefire remains crucial. Such a measure is viewed as essential to effectively address the crisis and ensure the safe, consistent, and dignified delivery of aid to the millions in need. It would also allow for unfettered independent reporting on the ground to fully document the situation.

Among the more than 59,000 people reportedly killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war broke out with Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, nearly 18,000 of them have been children, Fletcher noted, and international humanitarian law must be respected: aid must not be blocked, delayed or come under fire and hostages must be released, immediately and unconditionally.

"Ultimately of course we don’t just need a pause – we need a permanent ceasefire," he said.