UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a searing indictment of international apathy toward Gaza’s starvation crisis, calling the indifference a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience." Addressing Amnesty International’s global assembly, Guterres condemned the "lack of compassion, truth, and humanity" from world leaders as Israel’s blockade traps.1 million Palestinians in conditions worse than "a horror show". His remarks came amid reports of nine new child starvation deaths in 24 hours and waterborne diseases surging 150% due to contaminated water.
Nutrition screenings of 15,000 Gaza children reveal 16% suffer acute malnutrition, crossing the UN’s official famine threshold. The International Crisis Group (ICG) warned Israel’s "draconian restrictions" have turned Gaza into a "petri dish of disease," with severe malnutrition rates tripling in two weeks. ICG stressed: "Every truck matters. Every calorie counts". Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, described Palestinians as "walking corpses" and accused Israel of "deliberate mass starvation" after aid stockpiles were blocked.
Over 1,054 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since May, 766 near U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites and 288 near UN convoys. Guterres blasted the GHF’s militarized distribution model as "inherently unsafe" and "killing people," citing Israel’s practice of forcing civilians into conflict zones. He insisted only UN-led aid, grounded in neutrality can prevent further deaths. Israel rejected the criticism, accusing the UN of "aligning with Hamas".
France’s pledge to recognize Palestine in September has galvanized global action, with Canada condemning Israel’s "unacceptable" attacks on aid workers and Australia decrying civilian killings. Germany, France, and the UK jointly demanded Israel "immediately lift aid restrictions". Guterres urged all nations to leverage political influence: "To those in power: enable our operations. To those with influence: use it".