Chicago – July 20, 2025
Foreign ministers from 25 Western countries have strongly criticized Israel for only slowly sending aid to the Gaza Strip. This comes after the Gaza Health Ministry reported that over 1,000 people have died while trying to get help since the end of May.
The Health Ministry did not say exactly where the deaths took place, but the United Nations stated that many of these people were killed while trying to reach aid distribution points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization supported by both Israel and the United States. This organization started helping on May 27.
Palestinian officials and witnesses say most of the deaths were caused by the Israeli military. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have admitted to firing warning shots at some crowds but denied being responsible for the other deaths. In late June, the IDF said they had changed the paths to aid sites to reduce problems with the people, but the deaths have continued.
In a statement on Monday, the foreign ministers of 25 countries said that the suffering of people in Gaza has gotten much worse. The countries that signed the statement include Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, and many more, as well as the European Union’s Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management.
The Gaza Health Ministry also reported that in the last 24 hours, 99 people were killed and at least 650 were injured while trying to get aid.
