More than 100 humanitarian organisations are sounding the alarm to allow life-saving aid in.

As the siege imposed by the Israeli government starves the people of Gaza, aid workers now find themselves in the same lines for food, risking injury in their attempts to feed their families. With supplies now completely exhausted, humanitarian organisations are watching their3 colleagues and local partners die before their eyes.

Exactly two months after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an initiative controlled by the Israeli government, began its activities, 115 organisations are sounding the alarm, urging governments to act: open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, drinking water, medical supplies, repair items and fuel through a UN-led system; end the siege; and agree an immediate ceasefire.

"Every morning, the same question echoes in Gaza: will I eat today?" reports an agency representative.

Massacres at food distribution points in Gaza occur almost daily. As of 13 July, the UN confirmed that 875 Palestinians had been killed while searching for food, 201 along aid routes and the remainder at distribution points. Thousands of others were injured. Meanwhile, Israeli forces forcibly displaced nearly two million exhausted Palestinians, with the latest mass displacement order issued on 20 July, confining Palestinians to less than 12% of Gaza.
The WFP warns that current conditions make operations impossible. Starving civilians is a war crime.

Just outside Gaza, in warehouses - and even inside Gaza itself - tons of food, drinking water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel remain untouched, with humanitarian organisations blocked from access or distribution. The restrictions, delays and fragmentation imposed by the Israeli government as part of its total siege have created chaos, hunger and death. One aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of the devastating impact on children: "Boys and girls tell their parents that they want to go to heaven, because at least in heaven there is food."

Doctors report record rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children and the elderly. Diseases such as acute watery diarrhoea are spreading, markets are empty, rubbish is piling up and adults are collapsing in the streets from hunger and dehydration. Distribution in Gaza averages only 28 trucks per day, far from the number needed for over two million people, many of whom have not received assistance for weeks.

The UN-led humanitarian system did not fail: it was prevented from functioning.

Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond on a large scale. But with access denied, we are stuck3 and cannot reach those in need, including our own exhausted and hungry teams. On 10 July, the EU and Israel announced measures to increase aid. But these promises ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground. Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying from treatable diseases. Girls and children starve to death while they wait for promises that never come.

Palestinian people are trapped in a cycle of hope and despair, waiting for assistance and a cease-fire, only to wake up in worse and worse conditions. This is not only physical torment, but also psychological. Survival is shown as a mirage. The humanitarian system cannot function on empty promises.

Governments must stop waiting for permission to act. We cannot continue to hope that the current agreements will work. Now is the time to act decisively: call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire; remove all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions; open all land crossings; ensure access to all throughout Gaza; reject military-controlled distribution patterns; restore a UN-led humanitarian response; and continue funding impartial humanitarian organisations. States must take concrete steps to end the siege, such as halting the transfer of arms and ammunition.

Piecemeal agreements and symbolic gestures, such as airdrops of aid or symbolic agreements, act as a smokescreen for inaction. They cannot replace the legal and moral obligations of states to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access to large-scale aid. States can - and must - save lives, before there is no one left to save.

Appeal signed by Un Ponte Per and 114 other organisations . SUPPORT OUR INTERVENTION IN GAZA.