Calling call for Gaza: Humanitarian crisis reaches catastrophic dimensions!

Calling call for Gaza: Humanitarian crisis reaches catastrophic dimensions!

Minoritenplatz 8A, 1010 Wien, Österreich - On May 26, 2025, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic. According to a report by Austrian press agency , the limits of the humanitarian peoples are exceeded daily. The Israeli authorities block urgently needed relief goods, which leads to an acute care crisis. The population suffers from a serious lack of food, lack of medical care and lack of access to clean drinking water.

The health facilities in the Gaza Strip are faced with collapse. According to the organization, doctors without borders are specifically attacked and ambulance is severely restricted. The blockade has also caused medication deliveries and other vital goods no longer arrive to a sufficient extent. People in the north of the Gaza Strip are particularly affected, which have been cut by vital help for months.

aid actions and political demands

In order to draw attention to the precarious situation, the Austrian aid organizations organize doctors without borders and Caritas a photo campaign. This is intended to raise awareness of the public and move the government to take measures. A press date will be announced on May 28, 2026 in front of the Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs in Vienna, in which Laura Lyser will speak of doctors without borders and Alexander Bodmann from Caritas. The organizations ask the Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger to act against the blockade and to persuade the Israeli government to comply with humanitarian international law.

The blockade by Israel is sharply condemned by doctors without limits. The organization states that the Israeli authorities use humanitarian hardship as a means of lining in negotiations on an armistice. On October 9, 2023, the then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip. This prevented the civilian population from gaining access to vital aid, even in times of a declared ceasefire. According to the Constitutional blog , the refusal of humanitarian aid during the crisis is to be understood as a political means of pressure against Hamas instead of as a legitimate military measure.

The role of international international law

The conflict raises fundamental questions of humanitarian international law. In particular, the ban on starving the civilian population is anchored in the Geneva Agreement. Even if Israel did not ratify the 1977 additional protocols, it is bound to humanitarian international law. The International Criminal Court has already issued arrest warrants against Israeli guides, since there is no recognizable military necessity for the restrictions on humanitarian aids.

On top of that, the approval process for humanitarian aid is lengthy and bureaucratic, which further exacerbates the situation. The main tendril in Chan Junis was forced to significantly reduce production due to lack of fuel. Instead of 17 million liters a day, only 2.5 million liters are produced. In this context, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza have been without electricity and food since the beginning of the war, as doctors without limits report.

The humanitarian situation and the ongoing violations of international law in the Gaza Strip urgently need international attention and reactions. The survival of the population can only be secured by immediate measures.