Gaza humanitarian situation 'beyond catastrophic'

GAZA CITY

Palestinians struggle to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The situation in Gaza has become “beyond catastrophic,” with rising casualties near aid convoys and in shelters, as Israel continues to restrict access for many medical and humanitarian personnel, the U.N. has said.

According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), increasing numbers of people are being killed or wounded either along aid delivery routes or in the places they have sought refuge.

OCHA noted that “hospitals are overstretched,” with patients suffering on the ground or outside due to the dire shortage of “beds, medical supplies and equipment,” and reported that emergency medical teams were once again denied entry into Gaza.

Gaza’s hospitals on Aug. 7 recorded four new deaths “due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours,” according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, raising the total number of hunger-related deaths to 197, including 96 children.

“If it is not genocide, it looks very much like the definition used to express its meaning,” European Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera told Politico.

“What we are seeing is a concrete population being targeted, killed and condemned to starve to death.”

While the European Commission has previously accused Israel of human rights abuses in Gaza, it has so far stopped short of labelling its actions genocide.

Israel's security cabinet is expected to meet later on Aug. 7 to discuss military plans in Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking the “full occupation of Gaza,” according to Israeli media.

The Israeli press has predicted the cabinet would seek approval on expanding operations, including in pockets of densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held. The media reported a rift between the government and the army as the Israeli Defense Forces opposed the plan.

Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir vowed on Aug. 7 to continue expressing the military's position "without fear.”

"We will continue to express our position without fear, in a pragmatic, independent, and professional manner," Zamir said according to a military statement, as rumors swirled about alleged disagreements between him and the cabinet over Gaza.

Meanwhile, more than 20 people, including hostage families, boarded several boats that departed from the coastal city of Ashkelon carrying yellow flags and posters bearing the images of the hostages, as they shouted their names.

Speaking in English through a megaphone, Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is being held captive in Gaza, shouted: "Mayday, mayday, mayday. We need all international assistance to rescue the 50 hostages who are nearly two years held by the hand of Hamas."

"Please, we need international help," Cohen added.

Of the 251 people kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas and its allies, 49 remain hostages in Gaza, of whom 27 have been declared dead by the army.