Gaza

Oxfam is gravely concerned for the lives of around 500,000 Palestinians, alongside any of the more than 200 Israeli and other national hostages, currently trapped in a “siege within a siege” in northern Gaza.  

Starvation is being used as a weapon of war against Gaza civilians, Oxfam said today as it renewed its call for food, water, fuel and other essentials to be allowed to enter.  

Shane Stevenson, Oxfam Country Director for the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel said:   

“Finally, for the first of 12 consecutive nights, two million Palestinians in Gaza, including hundreds of thousands of traumatized children, can rest rather than lie awake in fear as bombs fly over their homes.  And civilians across Israel will be spared the threat of rocket attacks.  

With a new US-led peace initiative looming, it is critical to look back over the last 26 years and the legacy of the Oslo Accords to bring insight and understanding and to learn vital lessons from the past.

Ahead of the EU foreign affairs ministers meeting on Monday, Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s Policy Lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Gaza, said:  

“This fragile ceasefire is a start, but it is not the solution. For families in Gaza, words on paper mean very little unless aid reaches them, and not in symbolic trickles. What happens next and how the EU responds will be a defining test of Europe’s moral compass and political credibility. The EU cannot roll over into a policy of appeasement or take its leverage off the table. It cannot be a payer without being a player. Europe must use every diplomatic and political tool it has to rebuild lives and restore rights, or it risks being remembered as a bystander to realpolitik rather than a broker of principled peace.”   

Most countries recognize Palestinian statehood, yet Israel’s international law violations are accelerating.

Today, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas, presented a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement at the meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers. In response, Agnes Bertrand Sanz, Oxfam Humanitarian Expert, said:   “There are moments in history where delay and distraction are not neutral, it is a decision. While EU ministers continue to debate and defer, entire families in Gaza are being buried under rubble and people are being killed while trying to get food.  

Ahead of the EU foreign affairs ministers' meeting to discuss the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Agnes Bertrand Sanz, Oxfam Humanitarian Expert, said: “The cost of inaction is measured in lives. Oxfam and partners see firsthand the unspeakable toll in Gaza: homes flattened, hospitals destroyed and looming famine. No one should live in this constant fear, not knowing if today will be the day they die. There is no time for more debate and no room for passing the buck. It is time for leadership and decisive action. Europe must ask itself: does it want to be complicit in these atrocities?” 

Oxfam is deeply concerned by the outcomes of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis. At a time when urgent global crises demand bold and united action, the summit fell short of delivering the leadership the world needs. 

The Group of Seven (G7) countries are set to slash their aid spending by 28 percent for 2026 compared to 2024 levels.