The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is being overlooked as the world’s attention shifts to other parts of the Middle East. Meanwhile, conditions in Gaza are deteriorating at an alarming pace. On Monday, the IRC said there is a real risk that funding will decline, which would slow the already constrained humanitarian response at a time when needs are extremely high.
More than six months after the ceasefire began, over 2 million people — about 90 percent of Gaza’s population — remain displaced within Gaza. The majority are sheltering in makeshift tents or shelters while more than 370,000 housing units have been destroyed or damaged.
As global attention shifts elsewhere, families are being forced to survive without access to life-saving supplies and essential goods needed to live safely and maintain their dignity.
Although the ceasefire has decreased the intensity of the conflict, people remain trapped in a cycle of violence. Continued Israeli airstrikes and military operations jeopardize civilians, and basic infrastructure, such as health services, water, and aid operations, remains severely hindered by Israel.
“Gaza’s crisis is far from over. For millions of civilians, the emergency is ongoing, relentless, and life-threatening. Food insecurity remains widespread and severe. Approximately 1.6 million people, around 77% of Gaza’s population, are expected to face acute food insecurity,” said Faten Abu Mousa, the IRC's senior protection manager in Gaza.
“Despite expanded distributions of food parcels, bread, and hot meals, families are struggling to meet even their most basic nutritional needs. Prices remain prohibitively high, placing food further out of reach for many.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s healthcare system has nearly collapsed, with 94 percent of hospitals destroyed or damaged.
"According to the Ministry of Health, 51 percent of essential medicines are currently at zero stock in Gaza, which is severely limiting the ability to treat patients with life-threatening conditions, including those requiring intensive care and cancer treatment," Abu Mousa said.
“Hospitals are overwhelmed, under-resourced, and increasingly unable to provide adequate care.”
The IRC calls on the international community to keep Gaza's needs at the center of global attention.
“Sustained focus, funding, and a rapid and unimpeded scale up of aid are essential to prevent further loss of life”, the humanitarian organization said.
“Protecting civilians, ensuring the safety of aid workers, restoring medical evacuations, and enabling the consistent flow of aid must remain urgent global priorities.”
According to Gaza’s health officials, more than 244,000 Palestinians, primarily civilians, have been killed, injured, or maimed in Israeli military operations. The recorded death toll exceeds 72,500, including over 21,200 identified children. The total number of injuries approaches 172,300.
However, these figures are believed to be considerably lower than the actual number of casualties. Among those confirmed dead are over 590 aid workers, 397 UN staff members, over 1,700 health care workers, and 260 journalists.
Gaza remains unsafe for civilians, including aid workers and other personnel who provide life-saving aid
Those helping those in urgent need continue to pay the ultimate price. On Friday, two truck drivers, who were contracted to deliver essential water supplies on behalf of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), were killed by Israeli forces at a water filling point in northern Gaza.
“The victims were killed by Israeli fire in an incident that took place early this morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza,” said UNICEF on Friday.
The UN agency expressed outrage and called on the Israeli authorities to immediately investigate the incident and ensure full accountability.
"Humanitarian workers, essential service providers, and civilian infrastructure, including critical water facilities, must never be targeted," a UNICEF statement said.
“The protection of civilians and those delivering life-saving assistance is an obligation under international humanitarian law.”
On Saturday, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), comprising the heads of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, condemned the deaths of the two civilian contractors.
“The protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers and essential service providers, is an obligation under humanitarian law and must be upheld,” the HCT stated.
“The UN and its partners call on all parties to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of civilians and humanitarian operations.”
UN Women estimate: More than 38,000 women and girls killed in Gaza war
Also on Friday, UN Women announced that the war in Gaza has taken a far greater toll on women and girls than previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave. According to their estimates, more than 38,000 women and girls have been killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since the Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023.
According to UN Women's analysis, the overall total includes at least 22,000 women and 16,000 girls, amounting to an average of at least 47 women and girls killed daily, said Sofia Calltorp, UN Women's Chief of Humanitarian Action, to journalists in Geneva.
“Those killed were mothers, they were daughters, sisters, and friends, deeply loved by those around them,” she noted, adding that the killings have continued in recent months, despite a ceasefire between Hamas fighters and the Israeli military.
Data indicates that nearly 11,000 women and girls have been injured, many of whom have suffered life-changing disabilities. The true toll is likely higher because many bodies are still trapped under the rubble, UN Women said.
The large-scale killing of men, with more than 34,000 identified victims, has created a chronic humanitarian emergency in Gaza, where many households are now headed by women who are facing increased economic hardship and protection risks.
“This war has reshaped families. Tens of thousands of households are now headed by women,” UN Women’s Calltorp insisted.
“Having lost their husbands, they are sustaining their families without income, without support or access to essential services.”
According to an estimate by UN Women based on the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data issued in December 2025, nearly 790,000 women and girls in Gaza are experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse (IPC Phase 3 or higher).
In addition, “there is a complete lack of most services”, Calltorp said, highlighting an urgent need for “the basics”, including sexual and reproductive health and access to sanitary pads.
She recalled visiting Gaza in November and meeting two women who had to deliver their babies in the street, “because there were no transportations to bring them to any functional hospitals”.
UN Women is calling for full respect of the ceasefire, adherence to international law, and scaled-up humanitarian assistance, stressing that women and girls must be at the center of recovery and peace building efforts.
The gravest crimes known to humankind still go unpunished
Against this backdrop, legal experts and humanitarian organizations worldwide are expressing growing concern about the continued lack of accountability for crimes committed by Israeli military personnel and government officials. According to international law experts, deliberately obstructing humanitarian assistance constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and amounts to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and, according to several legal assessments, genocide.
UN commissions, international and Israeli human rights organizations, human rights experts, and leading genocide scholars have determined that Israel's actions in Gaza, including obstructing humanitarian aid, not only meet the legal definitions of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but also amount to genocide against Gaza's population.
Though the limited ceasefire has reduced active Israeli attacks, impunity for crimes committed by military personnel and government officials since October 2023 persists, with profound political consequences. Governments around the world, particularly those providing military aid and political support to the Israeli government, have been implicated in these crimes.
Some of the most egregious crimes include using starvation as a method of warfare, denying humanitarian aid, and collectively punishing civilians. These crimes also include indiscriminate attacks targeting civilians, aid workers, and journalists; deliberate attacks on civilian objects and undefended buildings; forced displacement; torture; and enforced disappearances.
To date, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant remain at large under International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the war in Gaza. They are currently the only individuals with active ICC arrest warrants, which were issued in November 2024.