Star Metro - Humanitarian situation in Gaza still catastrophic: NGOs

Major gaps remain between Israel's commitments and the reality facing Palestinians, representatives for Oxfam, Save the Children and Refugees International told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

"Israel continues to deny most experienced aid groups from bringing in essential supplies, like pipes to fix water systems, shelters, materials and medical supplies at the levels needed," Oxfam America President Abby Maxman said.

"This is despite promises of reconstruction, economic development, and long-term prosperity," she said.

Violence has also continued unabated, with relentless Israeli strikes, according to Teresa Soldner, an American surgeon who recently returned from Gaza.

"Trauma patients continued to arrive every single day that I was in Gaza," Soldner said. "I think that the Palestinian healthcare establishment has been absolutely decimated."

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in November 2025 endorsing the US-backed peace plan, which called for the full resumption of humanitarian aid.

"Children are still turning up in our health clinics with severe acute malnutrition," said Janti Soeripto of Save the Children, adding the numbers rose from January to April.

With no educational system left, more than "600,000 children will be out of school for the third year running," Soeripto said.

Maxman added that a lack of sanitation and hygiene materials means families are exposed to disease from open sewage, and vital water and sanitation systems and services are still destroyed or in disrepair.

The ceasefire in Gaza officially came into effect on October 10, 2025, and the first phase of the truce saw the release of the last hostages seized in October 2023 in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.

The transition to the second phase -- involving Hamas's disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, which still controls more than half of the Gaza Strip -- has been stalled.

Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk and the NGOs called on Israel to meet its obligations because the ceasefire deal "is failing, and it is failing because it is being made to fail."

P.M.Martin--SMC