“Let us do our jobs” — Major aid groups in Gaza warn aid system is collapsing

After 18 months of war, a staggering toll on civilians and aid workers, and now a six-week total siege, the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is facing total collapse with the CEOs of 12 major aid organisations making an urgent plea: let us do our jobs. 

A new humanitarian access survey of 43 international and Palestinian aid organisations working in Gaza found nearly all of them – 95% – have had to suspend or dramatically cut services since the ceasefire ended one month ago on 18 March, with widespread and indiscriminate bombing making it extremely dangerous to move around.

The people of Gaza – particularly women and children – are paying the price. Families are living amongst the rubble of their destroyed homes.  Famine is not just a risk, but likely rapidly unfolding in almost all parts of Gaza. The UN has warned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the worst it has been in 18 months.

Stripped of the means to keep people alive, hospitals have become morgues. More than 51,000 Palestinians have been reported killed. One of the last partially functioning hospitals, Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in northern Gaza, was bombed last Sunday.  

“This is one of the worst humanitarian failures of our generation. Every single person in Gaza is relying on humanitarian aid to survive. That lifeline has been completely cut off since a blockade on all aid supplies was imposed by Israeli authorities on 2 March.  

“We have supplies ready. We have trained medical staff. We have the expertise. What we don’t have is the access – or the guarantee by Israeli authorities that our teams can safely do their jobs.  

“Survival itself is now slipping out of reach and the humanitarian system is at breaking point,” the CEOs of the 12 aid organisations said in their joint statement.  

Twenty-four of the surveyed organisations reported increased movement restrictions in Gaza, impeding their ability to deliver aid.  Nineteen aid organisations reported having cargo stuck outside Gaza, totaling at least 9,000 pallets of aid supplies.  

Gaza now holds the disastrous record of being the deadliest place on earth for humanitarian workers. We cannot operate under fire or stay silent while our staff are killed. 

More than 400 aid workers and over 1,300 health workers have been reported killed in Gaza since October 2023, despite the requirement under international humanitarian law for humanitarian workers to be protected.  

The recent killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, whose bodies were found buried in a mass grave triggered global outrage, but many violations and attacks go unreported. 

Despite hopes that the eight-week pause in hostilities would become a turning point, the violence against civilians and aid workers has only worsened. Since Israeli forces resumed bombardments, at least 14 organisations reported Israeli fire directly or indirectly hitting their staff or aid facilities.  

Every day, aid workers - the majority of whom are Palestinian - are targeted, detained, obstructed or killed. Just as every day, rules meant to protect civilians in war are ignored with impunity.  When our staff and partners, our convoys, our offices, our warehouses are shelled, the message is loud and clear: even lifesaving aid is no longer protected. 

This is unacceptable. 

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have proposed a new authorisation mechanism for the delivery of aid in Gaza that the UN Secretary-General has described as “limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour.” This mechanism would set a dangerous new global precedent and eliminate any remaining space to deliver aid independent of military and political motivations. New NGO visa and registration rules, based on vague criteria, will censor humanitarian reporting and prevent us from fulfilling our mandate. 

We call on all parties to guarantee the safety of our staff and to allow the safe, unfettered access of aid into and across Gaza through all entry points, and for world leaders to oppose further restrictions. 

We call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals, schools and shelters and the immediate restoration of basic services – water, electricity, and sanitation as required under international law. 

We call for the release of the hostages. 

We call for the release of all Palestinians arbitrarily detained. 

We call, yet again, resoundingly, for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. 

Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool. Saving lives should not be controversial. Laws of war developed over centuries to govern conduct and protect civilians should not now be discarded. 

Let us do our jobs.  

INGER ASHING, CEO, Save the Children International 

AMITABH BEHAR, Executive Director, Oxfam International 

SEAN CARROLL, President and CEO, Anera

STEVE CUTTS, interim Chief Executive Officer, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)  

NICOLAS DOTTA, CEO, Médecins du Monde Spain

JAN EGELAND, Secretary General, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) 

REENA GHELANI, CEO, Plan International

MANUEL PATROUILLARD, Managing Director, Humanity & Inclusion - Handicap International  

MORGANE ROUSSEAU, CEO, Médecins du Monde Switzerland

REINTJE VAN HAERINGEN, Chair - Executive Committee, CARE International 

JOEL WEILER, CEO, Médecins du Monde France

ROB WILLIAMS, CEO, War Child Alliance