More than 100 international humanitarian and rights organizations issued a stark warning on Wednesday, declaring that “mass starvation” is spreading across Gaza as aid workers themselves now join the same food lines as civilians, risking their lives just to feed their families.

The coalition of 109 organizations, including major groups such as Save the Children, Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Amnesty International, released a joint statement exactly two months after the Israeli government-controlled Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations.

“Each morning, the same question echoes across Gaza: will I eat today?” said one agency representative, capturing the dire reality facing more than two million Palestinians trapped in what humanitarian groups describe as a “total siege.”

The organizations report that their own staff members are now experiencing the same hunger and desperation as the civilians they are trying to help. “With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organizations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes,” the statement reads.

An aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of children’s heartbreaking pleas: “Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food.”

According to United Nations figures confirmed as of July 13, 875 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food, with 674 dying near aid distribution sites and 201 killed on aid routes. The deadly pattern has become near-daily, with recent incidents including 32 Palestinians killed on July 19 near Israeli-backed food distribution sites.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported additional casualties, with 10 more Palestinians dying from starvation and malnutrition in the last 24 hours before the statement’s release, bringing the total number of starvation-related deaths to 111.

Doctors report record rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children and older people. Illnesses like acute watery diarrhea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and adults are collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration.

Current aid deliveries average just 28 trucks per day, far short of the 500-600 trucks the UN estimates are needed daily to meet minimum needs for Gaza’s population. Between May 19 and July 14, only 1,633 trucks—62% of those submitted to Israeli authorities—reached Gaza’s crossings.

According to the report, “Just outside Gaza, in warehouses—and even within Gaza itself—tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel sit untouched with humanitarian organizations blocked from accessing or delivering them. The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death.”

“Just outside Gaza, in warehouses—and even within Gaza itself—tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel sit untouched with humanitarian organizations blocked from accessing or delivering them. The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death.”

“Governments must stop waiting for permission to act. We cannot continue to hope that current arrangements will work. It is time to take decisive action: demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire; lift all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions; open all land crossings; ensure access to everyone in all of Gaza; reject military-controlled distribution models; restore a principled, UN-led humanitarian response and continue to fund principled and impartial humanitarian organizations. States must pursue concrete measures to end the siege, such as halting the transfer of weapons and ammunition.

“Piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures, like airdrops or flawed aid deals, serve as a smokescreen for inaction. They cannot replace states’ legal and moral obligations to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access at scale. States can and must save lives before there are none left to save.”