Middle East: 100 aid groups urge 'decisive action' in Gaza

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has submitted its response to an Israeli ceasefire proposal to mediators, unnamed sources told news agencies.

Israel had proposed a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, during which 10 Israeli hostages still held in the enclave would be released, in exchange for a group of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas has proposed amendments to clauses on the entry of aid, maps of areas from which Israeli troops should withdraw and guarantees on securing a permanent ceasefire, an unnamed Palestinian source familiar with the talks in Doha told the French AFP news agency.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer accused Hamas of obstructing talks.

"Israel has agreed to the Qatari proposal and the updated [US special envoy Steve] Witkoff proposal, it is Hamas that is refusing," Mencer told reporters.

Israel and Ukraine have agreed on the need to counter the "threat" posed by Iran on their two countries as well as "global security."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, during a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday.

Both Saar and Sybiha referred to Iran as a "threat" in their separate statements on the meeting.

"We agreed to hold a strategic dialogue on the Iranian threat," Saar said of the meeting.

Sybiha, meanwhile, stressed that "Iran and Russia pose an existential threat not only to our two nations, but also to global security," also referring to the "strategic dialogue."

Saar later also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and asked him to "lead to the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization in the Ukrainian Parliament," referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Israel sees Iran as an existential threat to its security, and has long accused it of developing a nuclear weapon, an accusation Tehran has denied. In June, Israel struck nuclear and military targets in Iran, starting a 12-day-war which also saw the US striking Iranian nuclear targets.

Ukraine has meanwhile been facing Russian attacks by Iranian-made drones since Russia launched its full-scale invasion and the subsequent war in early 2022.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said the country is acting "according to international law" in its 21-month war in Gaza, rejecting growing accusations that Israel was responsible for the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.

Herzog was speaking during his first visit to the Palestinian territory since the war began in October 2023.

"We are acting here according to international law. We are providing humanitarian aid according to international law," Herzog told troops.

The Israeli president blamed the Palestinian militant group Hamas "and its people" for "trying to sabotage this aid" in a bid to obstruct Israel's military operations.

Herzog also said there were "intensive negotiations" about returning the hostages in Gaza, adding that he hopes they will soon "hear good news," in a statement from the president's spokesperson.

Israel's military strike on a Catholic church in Gaza last week was an accident, a military investigation has concluded. The report on the investigation said the church was accidentally hit during an "unintended deviation of ammunition."

An Israeli military spokesman said the guidelines for the use of ammunition near religious buildings, shelters and other sensitive locations have been further clarified. The spokesman stressed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strive to minimize damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The Holy Family Church in Gaza city was struck last week, killing three people and wounding 10 others. The church's compound was also damaged. The church was hosting many displaced Palestinians who have lost their homes during the war.

The strike was widely condemned, including by Pope Leo XIV and US President Donald Trump. Israel issued statements of regret regarding the incident.

After over 100 aid organizations urged Israel to do more to alleviate Gaza's humanitarian crisis, the Israeli Foreign Ministry struck back at the accusations and said "these organizations are serving the propaganda of Hamas."

"In the critical time of negotiations, they are echoing Hamas' propaganda and harming the chances for a ceasefire," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on social media platform X.

"Close to 4,500 trucks have entered Gaza, including flour for bakeries and 2,500 tons of baby food and high-calorie special food for children," the statement added, while claiming that "there are more than 700 aid trucks inside Gaza waiting to be picked up by the UN. This bottleneck is the main obstacle to maintaining a consistent flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip."

The Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been tasked with carrying out aid deliveries into Gaza, with the UN-aligned aid distribution system largely sidelined.

In their statement on Wednesday, the aid organizations criticized Israel's "siege" on Gaza, with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also saying in separate comments to journalists that food deliveries into Gaza are "far below what is needed for the survival of the population."

A Saudi delegation of over 100 investors arrived in Syria, reportedly seeking to clinch agreements worth 15 billion riyals ($4 billion, €3.4 billion) in the country following the overthrow of Bashar Assad's regime.  

Saudi Arabia supported rebels who were against the Assad regime, which was backed by Saudi Arabia's Shiite archrival in the region, Iran. Now that Syria is under the helm of Ahmed al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamist transitional government after a 14-year civil war, Saudi Arabia's business class is looking to boost Syrian economy.     

Amid a two-day investment conference in the Syrian capital, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih arrived in Damascus with around 130 businesspeople from the oil-rich kingdom. According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia is particularly interested in Syria's energy and hospitality sectors, as well as its airports.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized the damage to health infrastructure in Gaza amid Israel's ongoing military offensive.

The WHO had condemned what it said was an Israeli attack on its main warehouse in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah. The Israeli military is currently conducting a ground incursion in the city, an offensive it says is targeting Hamas. 

In a post on X, the WHO said the strike in Deir al-Baleh is part of a "pattern of systematic destruction of health facilities." The WHO published footage of its damaged warehouse in central Gaza.

The Israeli military (IDF) has said it had ordered evacuations in central Gaza where it is conducting its operations. On Tuesday, the IDF said it came under fire in Deir al-Balah area and responded to the shooting. 

Thorsten Frei, head of the chancellery, has dismissed concerns of a rift within Germany's coalition government over its position on Israel.

A split emerged after Berlin opted not to join dozens of Western countries in signing a condemnation of the "inhumane killing" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza on Monday.

Leading figures in the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the junior coalition partner to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), on Tuesday urged the government to join a joint declaration signed by 28 states, including France, Italy and the UK, as well as the European Commission, the EU's executive branch.

However, Frei, Merz's top aide, said the coalition was united in its aims regarding Gaza, even if there were divisions over how Berlin could achieve them.

"There's not even a sheet of paper between the partners," Frei told German broadcaster ZDF. "Of course, you can have different views about the form and the path to a shared goal."

Read the full story on claims and denials of a rift within the German coalition government.

US President Donald Trump's envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is expected to visit Europe this week as the Trump administration pushes for a ceasefire in Gaza.

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Witkoff is visiting Europe amid optimism about a ceasefire deal in Gaza and a new humanitarian corridor. 

"I would suggest that we might have some good news, but, again, as we know, this could be a constantly changing dynamic," Bruce said during a State Department press briefing.     

US news outlet Axios reported that Witkoff would arrive in Rome on Thursday for meetings with Israeli and Qatari officials.

Qatar, a close US ally, has served as a mediator in the Gaza conflict. Qatar has supported Hamas financially and at one point hosted Hamas party leadership.         

A US-backed ceasefire initiative envisions a 60-day truce in Gaza, where Hamas would free some Israeli hostages in its captivity. In return, Israel would release Palestinian prisoners and facilitate more humanitarian assistance in Gaza.  

Hamas is expected to soon issue a response to the US-backed proposal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Hamas to be dismantled entirely as Israel's military operation in Gaza continues. 

Hamas is believed to still have 50 hostages in its captivity, which the group took from Israel during its October 7, 2023 terror attack. Only 20 hostages are still presumed to be alive amid the drawn-out war.

Over 100 aid groups and human rights watchdogs have condemned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, laying blame on Israel and the Israeli government-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) for the dire situation there.

The Gaza Strip has a population of around 2 million people and faces a critical shortage of food, water, medicine and other essential goods.  

"Exactly two months since the Israeli government-controlled scheme, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating," the aid groups said in a statement. "109 organizations are sounding the alarm, urging governments to act."

Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children International, Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council and others made a call to "open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism; end the siege, and agree to a ceasefire now."

The administration of US President Donald Trump also backs the GHF, which other humanitarian groups have criticized for politicizing aid in Gaza. 

Moreover, there have been near-daily reports of Palestinians being shot at and/or killed while trying to receive aid at GHF distribution centers in Gaza. The civil defense agency in Gaza has blamed the shootings on Israeli forces, whereas Israel has claimed that Hamas has been opening fire on Palestinians.

 

Palestinians 'trapped' in 'cycle of hope and heartbreak' 

"Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions," the statement said.

"It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage. The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access," it added.   

The statement from the aid groups comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres a day earlier called Gaza a "horror show" where "starvation is knocking on every door."

Although the aid organizations have criticized Israel's siege on Gaza, the Israeli government has contended that its restrictions on Gaza's borders are necessary for security reasons. Israel launched a military operation in Gaza after Hamas, the militant group which controls Gaza, led terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. 

The Israeli military is currently conducting a ground incursion into the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, with the World Health Organization on Monday saying a building housing WHO staff was attacked there.

The incursion raises further humanitarian risks for Gaza, as the city serves as a refuge for Palestinians displaced amid Israeli strikes.  

Welcome to DW's coverage of Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

As aid groups sound the alarm over extreme hunger in Gaza, a US envoy is traveling to Europe to discuss a possible ceasefire.

This blog will feature not only the latest news from the region but also analysis, multimedia content and on-the-ground reporting from DW correspondents.