The international organization called for urgent action to save lives.

“We join the international community in calling for immediate, free, and unimpeded access of medical supplies, food and life-essential services through all available means at speed and scale to the people of Gaza,” it said in a statement.

The World Bank Group’s board of directors in December approved the commitment of $35 million in funds to development partners which are active in Gaza, including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

This funds include a $10 million package to the WFP to purchase food parcels and vouchers to reach an estimated 377,000 people.

The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has also expressed concern about food security in the Gaza Strip.

“The hunger in Gaza serves as a stark reminder of the immense hardships civilians are enduring,” Jagan Chapagain wrote on X, saying, “desperate times call for urgent action.”

Stressing that the hunger serves as a stark reminder of the “immense hardships civilians are enduring,” he added the food crisis in the besieged enclave demands immediate attention and decisive measures.

“An increased, rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid is needed to reach those in need – now,” he noted.

“There is barely any food available,” and children are suffering from malnutrition.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas last October, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and almost 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

The Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM) published an open letter on its website, which was addressed to many EU officials, including President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Council Charles Michel, and the bloc’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.

More than 200 NGOs across Europe, including Oxfam, called on the EU to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, noting that human rights violations in Gaza “constitute a violation of the ‘essential elements’ clauses which state that the Agreement is conditional upon the parties’ respect for human rights and democratic principles.”

The groups also said that the “violation of the so-called ‘essential elements’ clauses enables the EU to terminate or suspend fully or partially the agreements.”

Despite all those violations, Israel’s economy “continues to enjoy privileged access to the EU market” via this agreement, and the bloc is Israel’s primary trade partner,” accounting for 28.8% of its trade in goods in 2022,” the letter read.

The groups also criticized the international community for “political and moral failure” which resulted in the current developments in Gaza and called on the EU to send a “strong message” by suspending the agreement with Israel.

Israel has waged a deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last October, which killed 1,200 people.

More than 31,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Brig. Gen. Fayeq al-Mabhouh, the head of police operations in Gaza, was killed Monday in an Israeli raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Al-Mabhouh was responsible for coordinating the entry of humanitarian aid with Palestinian tribes and the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) into the northern Gaza Strip, according to a statement by the Gaza Media Office.

“The occupation’s targeting of police officers and government agencies in the enclave depicts its attempt to spread chaos and perpetuate the blood shedding in Gaza,” Haniyeh said in a statement.

He emphasized that it “also reflects the occupation leaders’ attempts to sabotage the negotiations taking place in Doha.”

“This will not succeed in achieving Israel’s criminal plan, and Hamas will remain committed to the rights of our people and their clear demands to stop the aggression, withdrawing the army, and return the displaced,” he added.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue in Doha, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US, amid Israel’s ongoing devastating war on Gaza for nearly six months.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7 which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and over 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60%of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.