Aid Groups Warn of ‘Unimaginable Horror’ in Gaza, Urge Immediate Global Intervention as UN Confirms Genocide:

September 17, 2025 — Gaza City More than 20 leading humanitarian organizations have issued an urgent appeal to world leaders, demanding immediate action to halt the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, following a landmark United Nations report that accuses Israel of committing genocide in the besieged Palestinian territory. The joint statement, released early Wednesday, warns that nearly one million people are now “on the precipice of an even deadlier period in Gaza’s story” unless decisive steps are taken. With over 65,000 Palestinians killed—including more than 20,000 children—the heads of agencies including Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Save the Children, CARE International, and Islamic Relief Worldwide say the humanitarian catastrophe has reached levels previously unimaginable. “The inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable,” the statement said, accusing Israel of deliberately rendering Gaza City “uninhabitable” through a devastating ground offensive and forced displacement of its civilian population. The agencies emphasized that more than half a million people are starving, with famine already declared in parts of the enclave. “People are dying every day due to hunger, disease, and military assaults,” the groups said. “The cumulative impact of enforced starvation, siege, and relentless bombardment has pushed Gaza beyond the brink.” Christopher Lockyear, Secretary-General of Doctors Without Borders and one of the signatories, was blunt in his assessment: “Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and it is doing so with complete impunity.” The outcry follows the release of a report by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry, chaired by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, which for the first time concludes that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide. According to the report, top Israeli leaders—including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—bear individual responsibility for the crime of genocide based on their public statements and military actions. The Commission states unequivocally that “Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Despite the evidence and repeated international warnings, the humanitarian agencies say world governments continue to issue statements without taking meaningful action. “Rhetoric and half measures are not enough,” the joint statement reads. “This moment demands decisive political, legal, and economic action. Failure to act makes states complicit in these crimes and sets a dangerous precedent for the future.” In response to the UN findings, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the report as “fake” and accused the Commission of “serving as Hamas proxies.” But humanitarian workers say they have witnessed the suffering firsthand. “As humanitarian leaders, we have borne direct witness to the horrifying deaths and destruction,” the agencies wrote. “Our warnings have gone unheeded, and thousands more lives remain at risk.” With time running out, the aid organizations are calling on UN member states and global powers to act immediately. “History will judge this moment as a test of humanity,” they said.

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