Press releases

Israel’s relentless air and land bombardment and deliberate obstruction of the humanitarian response is making it virtually impossible for aid agencies to reach trapped, starved civilians in Gaza, Oxfam said today, as the latest ceasefire deal negotiations continue.

In response to World Health Organization (WHO) member states not reaching an agreement on a pandemic accord in time for the World Health Assembly this week, Oxfam International’s Health Policy Lead, Anna Marriott, said: “Negotiators have been working on drawing up a global treaty meant to prevent a repeat of the extreme vaccine apartheid between Global North and South during the COVID-19 pandemic. But time and time again in these negotiations, rich countries have danced to the tune of big pharmaceutical corporations instead of healing the deep geopolitical chasms caused by their short-sighed vaccine nationalism."

As Israeli attacks intensify on Rafah, the unpredictable trickle of aid into Gaza has created a mirage of improved access while the humanitarian response is in reality on the verge of collapse, warn 20 aid agencies.

Reacting to donor pledges made at the Brussels conference on Syria today, Oxfam in Syria Country Director, Moutaz Adham, said: "While we welcome the pledges made today, the discussion remains far removed from the harsh realities Syrians face."

In response to the communiqué published following today’s meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, Oxfam International’s Tax Policy Lead, Susana Ruiz, said: “That conversations about taxing the super-rich are happening at the G7 and G20 is historic. A majority of people, across party lines and across countries, support proposals to fairly tax the rich.
 

In reaction to today’s order from the International Court of Justice to South Africa’s case, which demands Israel halt its offensive in Rafah, Sally Abi-Khalil, Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East said: "Oxfam welcomes the ICJ’s order as a critical intervention to stop Israel’s military onslaught on Rafah, which has displaced more than 800,000 people, and an affirmation of the right to life of the Palestinian people."

In reaction to Spain, Ireland and Norway recognizing the State of Palestine, Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said: “This recognition is a landmark decision and other countries must follow suit. It is a crucial step in affirming the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination, but it must transcend beyond symbolism into concrete steps towards ending the Israeli occupation and achieving full sovereignty for the Palestinian State.

The destruction of critical water and sanitation infrastructure by the Israeli forces along with severe over-crowding, malnutrition and heat is pushing Gaza to the brink of a deadly epidemic outbreak, Oxfam warned today. 

In reaction to Russia’s attack on Kharkiv today which severely damaged a community centre operated by Oxfam’s partner “Peaceful Heaven of Kharkiv”, Nicola Bay, Oxfam’s Organisational Lead for Ukraine, said: 

In reaction to Israel’s imminent invasion of Rafah, Sally Abi-Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director said: “We are horrified by Israel’s order to evacuate around 100,000 people and what appears to be an impending invasion of Rafah, despite a universal plea from world leaders urging it to stop its continued, barbaric, onslaught.