Day: 24 July 2025

Deadly diseases are now ripping through Gaza even as millions of dollars’ worth of humanitarian aid piles up in warehouses across the region, says Oxfam.

Water-borne diseases that are both preventable and readily treatable have increased by almost 150% inside Gaza over the past three months as Israel continues to deliberately block aid.

Available multi-agency health data shows that the numbers of Palestinians presenting to health facilities with acute watery diarrhea have increased by 150 per cent, bloody diarrhea by 302 per cent, and acute jaundice cases by 101 per cent.

Even these figures will be grossly under-reported because most of the two million people trapped by Israel’s continuing siege have little access to the few healthcare facilities that have managed to keep operating.

This surge of disease can quickly turn deadly especially as Palestinians living in Gaza have been deprived of enough food, water, shelter, and adequate healthcare for over 21 months. Their community and family networks have been shattered, and people made more vulnerable by repeated forced mass displacements and continuing violence.

Israel has put Gaza under a near total blockade since March 2 of this year stopping all but a trickle of aid. There are no longer any humanitarian aid reserves held by international agencies inside of Gaza.

As a result, international humanitarian donors and agencies have been forced to accumulate more than 420,000 pallets of aid that now sit in limbo inside warehouses across the regions. This covers an area of around 75 hectares, or enough to cover 101 football fields.

This aid includes shelters, food and supplements to combat malnutrition, and water equipment, sanitation items and medicines that would be vital to tackle diseases and

Oxfam alone has over 110,000 items of humanitarian aid in one warehouse including water bladders and tanks, hygiene, dignity and water testing kits, food parcels, soap, nappies, pipes and latrine slabs.

Oxfam is waiting for clearances and permissions to enter, however the Israeli authorities have recently denied water and sanitation items and food parcels.

Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel policy lead, said that time is running out to prevent an epidemic across Gaza and the mass death that would inevitably result.

“The conditions that Palestinians in Gaza are being forced to endure have created a petri dish for disease. These are diseases that thrive where people lack water – clean or otherwise – and are stuck in over-crowded unsanitary environments with almost no food,” Khalidi said.

“There is a grim and deliberate inevitability as to what Israel has created in Gaza. Each day that its siege continues and it denies aid, starvation becomes increasingly widespread and human deaths from entirely preventable diseases becomes an absolute certainty.”

“As Gaza bakes in the summer sun and the hottest month of the year looms, it is increasingly urgent that Israel’s siege must end. It is shameful Israel has been allowed to besiege Gaza and create this catastrophe. Nothing other than complete access to Gaza to deliver aid at scale can alleviate the conditions that people have been forced to live in.”

“Each day we wait for a ceasefire, more lives are lost through violence, hunger and disease. Palestinians in Gaza cannot wait a day longer for this hell to end. There must be a full and complete ceasefire, and all required aid must be able to enter via all crossings into Gaza so that Palestinians can finally begin to recover and rebuild.”

Notes to editors

Health data is drawn from Gaza health cluster data epidemiology on WASH related disease trends March-June 2025
Calculation of aid pallets based on Palestine logistics cluster data
Oxfam has aid waiting for clearance in warehouses in Jordan and in Egypt.

Contact information

For more information and for interviews, please contact:

Media at Oxfam Aotearoa | media@oxfam.org.nz or

Oxfam Media office | Media.OPTI@oxfam.org

Jacqui Crocoran | Oxfam Media Lead in Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Territory | jacqui.corcoran@oxfam.org

The International Court of Justice has ruled that governments must phase out fossil fuels, rapidly reduce emissions, provide remedy to those facing climate damages and provide climate finance to developing countries.

Ilisapeci Masivesi, Director Programmes, Impact and Partnerships at Oxfam in the Pacific said:

“There are many Pacific Islanders who feel incredibly optimistic today. Not just because this ruling from the International Court of Justice is going to set the benchmark for future climate issues but also because this moment is proof that when people mobilise as a collective, they can do anything.

I’m sure there are many who would have thought that a group of young Pacific Islanders wouldn’t be able to take this campaign all the way to the International Court of Justice, but today’s historic ruling changes that and is a reminder to young people all over the world that we can hold big polluters to account in our fight for the phaseout of fossil fuels, a just energy transition and fair climate financing for all.”

Oxfam climate change policy lead Nafkote Dabi said:

“Oxfam is proud to have supported young climate defenders from the Pacific and elsewhere who bravely took their fight for justice from a classroom in Vanuatu to the world’s highest court. They won the world a tremendous victory today.

This ruling elevates national climate commitments everywhere by confirming that countries must reduce emissions enough to protect the universal rights to life, food, health and a clean environment. All countries, particularly rich ones, now have to cut their emissions faster and phase out fossil fuels. Rich countries have to increase their financing to Global South countries to help them reduce emissions and protect their people from past and future harm. This is not a wish-list – it is international law.

We now have a powerful tool for holding countries to account for their obligations, especially in protecting the world’s most marginalised people and future generations of humanity. The ICJ rejected arguments by the likes of the US and UK that governments are bound only by climate treaties such as the Paris Agreement and did not have stronger obligations under international law. This ruling will inject new impetus into negotiations at the COP30 Summit in Brazil this November.”

Oxfam Aotearoa climate justice lead Nick Henry said:

“Today’s ruling is a stunning rebuke to the rich countries, including New Zealand, who are failing to stop harm to our climate. It is a victory for a people-powered campaign started by Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change, gaining support from Pacific leaders and allies around the world.

The New Zealand government provided early support to the campaign and co-sponsored the UN resolution that referred the case to the ICJ. But in its submissions to the court, New Zealand argued that human rights law is not relevant to climate change and that governments don’t have climate obligations beyond the existing Paris Agreement.

The world’s highest court has rejected the New Zealand government’s arguments and ruled that the international treaties on human rights and the environment create binding obligations to prevent harm to the climate.

This means that New Zealand must do more to reduce emissions and increase funding for climate action in the Pacific.”

Notes to editors:

Oxfam has been supporting the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change’s lawsuit since 2022, joining in advocacy for the UN General Assembly to refer the case to the Court. Oxfam provided a written statement to the ICJ in March 2024 on human rights obligations beyond borders and what this means for climate action. Oxfam also contributed to an expert legal opinion that was referenced in several State submissions, the Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations.

Contact information:

Rachel Schaevitz, Head of Communications, Media & Advocacy: Rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

Archives for July 24, 2025

Notes to editors

Contact information

The International Court of Justice has ruled that governments must phase out fossil fuels, rapidly reduce emissions, provide remedy to those facing climate damages and provide climate finance to developing countries.