Geneva – Euro-Med Monitor urgently called on international humanitarian organisations in the Gaza Strip to relocate a substantial part of their operations to Gaza and North Gaza governorates, in anticipation of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons returning to their areas following the ceasefire agreement reached on Thursday morning.
The immense humanitarian needs in the northern Gaza Strip require organisations to balance their operations across the northern, central, and southern regions, with particular focus on urgent relief projects for the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons living in near-catastrophic conditions in the north.
In its statement, Euro-Med Monitor noted that Gaza and North Gaza governorates have become the epicentre of the Strip's gravest humanitarian crisis, with nearly 90 per cent of the infrastructure destroyed, residential neighbourhoods reduced to rubble, and almost no effective humanitarian presence on the ground.
Gaza and North Gaza governorates have become the epicentre of the Strip's gravest humanitarian crisis, with nearly 90 per cent of the infrastructure destroyed
The organisations addressed included the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Central Kitchen (WCK), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and other humanitarian and relief agencies operating in the Gaza Strip.
Since 11 August 2025, ongoing Israeli military operations have directly targeted Gaza City and its northern areas as part of a declared plan to depopulate and destroy the city. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee, while many others remain trapped in deadly conditions.
The blockade imposed on the northern regions has completely paralysed life, forcing most hospitals and health centres to shut down and leaving thousands of patients and wounded without treatment or medication. Water networks have also ceased functioning, compelling residents to rely on unsafe sources, which has led to the widespread outbreak of diseases and epidemics.
On 22 August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative officially declared that famine had spread throughout the Gaza Strip, reporting that half a million people are living in IPC Phase 5 "humanitarian catastrophe", the highest level of hunger and starvation globally. Most of these individuals are in Gaza City and North Gaza, where food aid has not arrived for weeks, and sufficient relief supplies have been denied entry.
Field reports received by Euro-Med Monitor from residents of North Gaza indicate that dozens of children and elderly people have died from starvation or malnutrition-related illnesses, while daily deaths are recorded among patients unable to access medicine or medical care. The Israeli military continues to block humanitarian organisations from operating freely in these areas and imposes severe restrictions on the movement of aid, turning the north into a "completely sealed-off disaster zone."
The situation on the ground demands urgent action to redeploy relief teams to the north by establishing major, permanent humanitarian centres in Gaza and North Gaza governorates. These centres should distribute food, water, and medical aid, operate mobile clinics and central kitchens, and provide weather-resistant tents for families returning to their devastated areas.
Euro-Med Monitor stressed the need to restore water desalination stations, sewage networks, and public hygiene services to prevent the spread of epidemics, alongside rehabilitating roads and humanitarian corridors to enable rescue and aid teams to reach affected areas.
Redirecting humanitarian efforts to Gaza and North Gaza governorates has become a top priority to ensure a genuine start to recovery and reconstruction. Continuing to focus operations solely on the central and southern Gaza Strip will only prolong the catastrophic situation in the north and hinder the return of life for more than a million people in those areas.
A central field presence of humanitarian organisations in Gaza and North Gaza governorates represents not only a relief response but also an act of humanitarian protection and a clear message that the world will not tolerate the starvation of civilians or their abandonment to a slow death. A firm stance from the international community against any Israeli restrictions on the movement of humanitarian teams is essential.
Euro-Med Monitor affirmed its full readiness to cooperate on the ground and exchange information with organisations to ensure effective access to targeted areas and the successful implementation of their programmes with the highest levels of coordination and integration. The repositioning of humanitarian action to the north is not a tactical choice but an urgent moral and humanitarian imperative at this stage.
