An ever-growing number of appeals are coming in the wake of a World Health Organisation (WHO) report that large sections of Gaza’s population are now experiencing starvation. More than 400 rabbis signed a letter urging the Israeli government to allow aid into Gaza, halt settler violence, and pursue peace. Jewish leaders from around the world are calling on Israel to respect all innocent life. The letter urges the Israeli government to permit the entry of “extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza under international supervision, while guarding against control or theft by Hamas.” Israel stopped aid deliveries to Gaza in early March following a two-month ceasefire, citing factors including Hamas stealing the aid supply. The letter cites “the sanctity of life” and core Torah values, including the belief that “every person is created in God’s image” and the commandment to “treat every human being justly.” The letter also refers to violence in the West Bank. The rabbis have called on Israeli authorities to “use the forces of law and order to end settler violence on the West Bank and vigorously investigate and prosecute settlers who harass and assault Palestinians.” The letter describes “the severe limitation placed on humanitarian relief in Gaza” and “the policy of withholding of food, water, and medical supplies from a needy civilian population” as being in conflict with Jewish values. “Repeated statements of intention and actions by ministers in the Israeli government, by some officers in the Israeli army, and the behaviour of criminally violent settler groups in the West Bank, often with police and military support, have been major factors in bringing us to this crisis,” reads the letter. The letter urges political dialogue, calling for “open channels of dialogue together with international partners to lead toward a just settlement, ensuring security for Israel, dignity and hope for Palestinians, and a viable peaceful future for all the region.” Pierced by wounds of war Speaking after the recitation of the Angelus Prayer on Sunday 27 July, Pope Leo XIV said that he is following with deep concern the extremely grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the civilian population is being crushed by hunger and continues to be exposed to violence and death. “Every human being has an intrinsic dignity bestowed by God Himself. I urge all parties in every conflict to recognise this dignity and to cease all actions that violate it.” In a joint press conference held 22 July in Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, delivered a pastoral and humanitarian testimony after their visit to Gaza, where they had witnessed firsthand the immense suffering endured by its people under bombardment, siege, and deprivation. In his address, Patriarch Theophilos III described Gaza as “a land pierced by the wounds of war, where the innocent bleed beneath the weight of a merciless assault.” Patriarchs Theophilos III and Pizzaballa underscored that the ongoing destruction in Gaza is a humanitarian and moral catastrophe that cannot be ignored. Rev. Prof. Michel Abs, secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches, expressed his feelings through a poem, which read, in part: From beneath the rubble, we call to you.
From the heart of tragedy, we cry out.
We are the children of Palestine, the people of Gaza, abandoned by all the nations of the world,
betrayed by governments that defied their own people who stood in solidarity with us. On 19 July, the Muslim Council of Elders, led by His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, condemned Israeli attacks, which violate international laws, warning of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. ACT Alliance general secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria said that the starvation in Gaza is a deep wound on the conscience of humanity. “Turning humanitarian aid into a weapon of war is a grave violation of international law and human dignity,” he said. “People of faith cannot remain silent in the face of such suffering. We call for an immediate ceasefire, full and sustained humanitarian access, and an end to the siege that is suffocating millions of innocent lives.” The Lutheran World Federation general secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt expressed deep concern. “We cannot look away as children are starving and people are unable to safely collect water from aid points,” she said. “Our humanitarian colleagues are suffering alongside the rest of the population.” Many of them are hungry, exhausted, and struggling to carry out their duties to care for others, explained Burghardt. “One of them told us: ‘We see the toll in each other’s faces – our bodies thinning day by day since the ceasefire collapsed. The hunger is no longer invisible,’ ” Burghardt said. “We reiterate our call for an end to the conflict and unhindered access for those seeking to alleviate the suffering in Gaza.” Health consultant Dr Bassam Abu Hamad, who has worked with health units in Gaza operated by the Middle East Council of Churches Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees, shared what he sees on the streets of Gaza every day. “I am seeing on the streets of Gaza people who look thin,” he said. “The majority of people have lost weight.” He estimates 40 percent of people in Gaza have lost a significant amount of their body weight. “I see people looking for food, wondering when this terrible situation will end,” he said. “Reports from the field reveal that acute malnutrition has reached an unprecedented level.” Long-term malnutrition has been weighing on people’s backs for months on end, Hamad said. “Thousands of hungry people are seeking food, going to the unsafe and inhumane centers—the four centers that are controlled by the Israeli army through the American-Israeli company—and these centers are death centers,” he said. “Your chance of receiving food aid is much, much less than receiving a bullet that kills you.” Breach of international humanitarian law Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell issued a statement that reflected, with each passing day in Gaza, the violence, starvation, and dehumanisation being inflicted on the civilian population by the Government of Israel becomes more depraved and unconscionable. “In the name of God, I cry out against this barbaric assault on human life and dignity,” the statement reads. “It is a stain on the conscience of the international community, and a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law.” Archbishop Thabo Magoba, South African Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, noted that the death toll of Palestinians seeking food at the hands of Israeli troops is staggering. “I weep at the starvation of the people of Gaza,” he said. “I weep at the evidence of the ethnic cleansing of Gaza as we watch.” Bishop Dr Sani Ibrahim Azar, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, expressed shock at the images, videos, and reports of mass starvation in Gaza. “On behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and the global Lutheran community, I condemn this policy of extermination through starvation in the strongest possible terms,” said Azar. “The Israeli government is weaponizing hunger to accelerate the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.” Rev. Dr Dagmar Pruin, president of Bread for the World and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe demanded that the German government take vigorous action for the release of the hostages, for an immediate end to the violence, and for unhindered access for humanitarian aid in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. “This war must end,” said Pruin. “The people of Gaza and Israel have the right to a life of security, dignity, and hope.” The South African Council of Churches expressed heartbreak over mounting reports and evidence that the Government of Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. “This deliberate withholding of food, clean water, and humanitarian aid from a civilian population is not only morally reprehensible; it is a crime against humanity,” reads a statement. “The deprivation of food and water, especially from children, is a clear violation of international humanitarian law, including Article 54 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.” Weeks without assistance A statement from more than 100 other organizations notes that the residents of Gaza are starving—and now so are the aid workers. “With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes,” notes the statement. A call to action from Caritas Internationalis addresses a situation it describes as beyond any legal and moral boundaries. “We want peace,” the message reads. “We must stop the seeds of hatred being sown in the hearts of young Palestinians and Israelis, and elsewhere in the region.” These will fuel wars in the Middle East for decades to come, the message continues. “Silence in the face of this situation is complicity,” the text reads. As mass starvation spreads across Gaza, our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away (ACT Alliance news release, 23 July 2025) In Gaza, humanitarian response must go beyond survival (WCC interview, 23 July 2025) | 
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