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Washington, D.C. - September 12, 2025

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Joint Statement: “A Death Sentence” – Aid Agencies Warn of Israel's Assault on Gaza City

September 12, 2025, Washington D.C.-  45 Humanitarian and civil society organizations warn that
Israel’s assault on Gaza City amounts to a death sentence.

Intensified Israeli military attacks on Gaza City and forced displacement orders for the entire city
are leaving families with an impossible dilemma: flee and risk death on the road and in
overcrowded displacement areas, or stay and face relentless bombardment in their shelters.
Starvation and siege await them regardless.

“Our only demand is life,” said Ayman (name changed), a father sheltering with his family in Gaza
City. “We are humans just like you. We want to live with dignity and safety, not to die from hunger
or bombs.”

Nearly one million Palestinians, starved, grieving, and displaced many times over, remain in Gaza
City. If Israel’s operation in Gaza City continues, hospitals will be cut off and attacked, shelters
and schools bombed, aid convoys blocked, and those too weak, old, or sick to flee will be left to
die. “We are tired of running from one place to another,” said Abeer (name changed), a
humanitarian worker.

At the same time, Israel is deliberately obstructing humanitarian operations. Aid trucks continue
to be denied, and international NGOs are left in limbo by an opaque registration regime, even as
famine deepens.

The International Court of Justice has recognized that Palestinians in Gaza have a right to be
protected from genocide. Each act of forced displacement and each surge of hunger makes that
danger more certain, and the world cannot claim it did not see this coming.
Let our goods enter. Let us work. Stop this assault.


Signed by 45 Humanitarian and Civil Society Organisations
1. ActionAid
2. Action For Humanity
3. American Friends Service Committee
4. Anera
5. Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz
6. A New Policy
7. Caritas Internationalis
8. Caritas Jerusalem
9. Christian Aid
10. Churches for Middle East Peace
11. CISS - Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud
12. Danish Refugee Council
13. Danske Hus i Palæstina
14. Embrace the Middle East
15. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
16. HelpAge International
17. Humanity & Inclusion - Handicap International
18. Humanity First UK
19. Insecurity Insight
20. INSO
21. Islamic Relief
22. Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
23. Médecins Du Monde France (MdM France )
24. Médecins du Monde Switzerland (MdM Switzerland)
25. MedGlobal
26. Medico International
27. Médicos del Mundo (Spain)
28. Mennonite Central Committee
29. National Justice and Peace Network England and Wales
30. Norwegian People’s Aid
31. Oxfam
32. Pax Christi Flanders
33. Pax Christi München
34. Pax Christi Scotland
35. People in Need
36. Plan International
37. Premiere Urgence Internationale
38. Rebuilding Alliance
39. Saferworld
40. Secours Islamique France
41. Solidarités International
42. Terre des Hommes Italy
43. The Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA)
44. Vento di Terra
45. War Child Alliance

Formed in 1984, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a coalition of more than 30 national church communions and organizations, including Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Evangelical traditions that works to encourage US policies that actively promote a comprehensive resolution to conflicts in the Middle East with a focus on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. CMEP works to mobilize US Christians to embrace a holistic perspective and to be advocates of equality, human rights, security, and justice for Israelis, Palestinians, and all people of the Middle East.

Recent CMEP Statements and Press Releases:

Aug 27, 2025: Churches for Middle East Peace Elevates the Joint Statement by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Churches for Middle East Peace affirms the joint statement from the Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates of Jerusalem as a cry from the heart of the Christian community in the Holy Land, a prophetic voice of truth spoken amid unbearable suffering. Their words remind us that what is unfolding in Gaza is not an abstraction, but the lived reality of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, including the faithful who have sought refuge within the very walls of the Church. The Patriarchates’ declaration that there can be “no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge” is both a moral compass and a summons to the global conscience.

Aug 26, 2025 Joint Statement: The Latest Planned Israeli Military Offensive in Gaza City Must Be Halted
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) joined twenty church-based organizations in calling for Israel to halt its planned military offensive in Gaza City. With famine already declared in Gaza, further military operations will only cause further suffering and death for a civilian population without anywhere else to go. As the letter reads, “this displacement will result in a modern-day death march that is clearly intended to ethnically cleanse half of the Gaza Strip and compress all of Gaza’s population into a tiny sliver of territory incapable of sustaining life.” The letter calls on all parties, including the United States, to use all leverage available to call upon the Israeli government to reverse its plans for a military offensive in Gaza City and to instead pursue a durable and lasting ceasefire.

Aug 25, 2025: Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) Statement on UN Declaration of Famine in Gaza
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) laments the famine conditions in Gaza and uplifts the UN official declaration of famine announced on Friday, August 22, 2025. This is not a natural disaster; this famine is entirely man-made. It is the direct result of the Israeli government’s systematic restriction of humanitarian aid, a policy that amounts to the deliberate starvation of a civilian population. Friday’s famine confirmation shows the world has failed to act.

Aug 19, 2025: Churches for Middle East Peace Calls for the Safeguarding of Healthcare Facilities Following Attacks on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City
CMEP stands in solidarity with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem following the horrific attacks on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City by “local outlaw bands” and an Israeli drone strike, which resulted in 7 casualties. CMEP affirms that healthcare facilities must be protected as areas of refuge and decries Israel’s systemic targeting of these facilities. The international community must act decisively to uphold the sanctity of healthcare in Gaza.

Aug 14, 2025: Joint Statement: Gaza: Israel threatens to ban major aid organizations as starvation deepens
Together with more than 100 organizations, CMEP is calling for an end to Israel’s weaponization of aid. Despite claims by Israeli authorities that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March.

See all of our public statements and press releases.