This is not a cry for help — it is the final warning

(Ramallah – Gaza: July 27, 2025) The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) issues an urgent alert about the rapidly deteriorating and catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli occupation continues to enforce a systematic starvation policy, implemented through a suffocating blockade and severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid.

Official figures indicate that 127 people — including 85 children — have died from hunger and severe malnutrition since the beginning of the war. This horrifying toll is a clear sign of the accelerating humanitarian collapse. Life in Gaza has become nearly unlivable, as civilians are denied access to the most basic necessities: food, water, and medicine.

Since late May, the situation has worsened dramatically with the introduction of a new aid distribution mechanism run by the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” which replaced previously functioning humanitarian system. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, over 1,000 people have been killed while waiting in aid lines in desperate attempts to obtain food.

More than two million people are now facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. Thousands of families have not had a single meal in days. Hospitals are overwhelmed with cases of severe malnutrition, emaciation, and fainting — particularly among children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and the elderly.

With infant formula unavailable and breastfeeding nearly impossible due to maternal malnutrition, the lives of infants are in grave danger. The lack of nutritional supplements and critical medications further hinders healthcare workers, who continue to serve their communities despite facing hunger and deprivation themselves.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society affirms that this deliberate starvation of civilians constitutes a war crime and a grave violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, including:

• Article 54, which prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare;
• Article 55, which obligates the occupying power to provide food and medical supplies to the population under occupation.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society urgently calls on the international community and all High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to take immediate and concrete action to stop this crime by:

• Enforcing an immediate and permanent ceasefire;
• Opening all crossings into Gaza to allow for the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid;
• Ensuring safe and unimpeded access for aid delivery to all areas and vulnerable populations across the Strip;
• Protecting humanitarian and relief workers, who must be able to operate without threat or obstruction;
• Facilitating the land entry of aid, which remains the most effective and equitable method of delivery. Airdrops provide only limited relief, fail to ensure fair distribution, and have caused injuries due to uncontrolled package drops.

The international community’s continued silence and failure to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities renders it complicit in this collective crime.