Toronto, 20 May 2025. Action Against Hunger warns that the humanitarian aid that has begun to enter the Gaza Strip is dramatically insufficient to meet the needs of a population already living on the brink of survival.
Natalia Anguera, Head of Operations for Middle east, says: “While we welcome the minimal progress, the humanitarian aid inflow we have witnessed until now is ‘practically nothing’. We have food stored in Jordan ready to feed thousands of families for a month, but it can’t cross the border into Gaza because of restrictions.”
Currently, food aid allowed into Gaza is restricted to bakery distributions, baby food and hot meals through community kitchens. Humanitarian operations are extremely difficult due to the restrictions on the ground.
“The situation is changing all the time,” says Anguera. “Our local suppliers can’t get ingredients, and due to the siege, they have run out of reserves. Aid efforts like community kitchens, which were possible a week ago, are no longer possible due to lack of stock availability. The distribution of hot meals with local kitchens can work for two or three days, maybe more, but everything is subject to food availability”.
“Survival,” replies Natalia Anguera. “The situation on the ground is desperate for more than two million Gazans. The main challenges we still face are the need for a massive inflow of aid into Gaza through the different entry points, facilitating the dignified distribution of aid to the Gazan population, and ensuring the safety of the civilian population and of humanitarian workers and resources,” concludes Natalia.
Action Against Hunger stresses that the UN-coordinated humanitarian model to deliver aid is still reliable. “Our experience of more than 20 years in Gaza shows that the UN-coordinated model is effective and transparent,” adds Action Against Hunger’s Middle East desk. In the last year, we have been able to deliver critical humanitarian aid in various forms (food, water, nutritional supplements, etc.) to more than one million people.
At the same time, Action Against Hunger reaffirms its unwavering commitment to humanitarian principles. It is key to ensure that humanitarian principles are upheld with free access to people, non-discrimination, neutrality and independence. And all this in coordination with the United Nations, its member states, and donors.
Natalia Anguera concludes: “Every day of delay worsens hunger and brings Gaza closer to famine. We cannot allow aid to remain blocked while millions of people, including children, see their lives threatened. The international community must act now.
Action Against Hunger reiterates its commitment to continue working in Gaza as long as access and security conditions allow and calls on all actors involved to prioritize the lives and dignity of the civilian population above all other considerations as well as the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages.
Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 21 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 56 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.
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