Gaza: Welthungerhilfe Welcomes Planned Ceasefire
More humanitarian aid and fewer restrictions required to alleviate hunger and hardship

Bonn/Berlin, January 16, 2025. Welthungerhilfe welcomes the negotiated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as well as the imminent release of the hostages. It calls on all stakeholders to implement the provisions of the agreement as quickly as possible. After 15 months of devastating violence, during which more than 46,000 people lost their lives, this agreement will hopefully lead to a lasting ceasefire and a peaceful, political solution to this conflict.
“The terrible suffering and rising death toll have finally come to an end. Welthungerhilfe will continue to provide humanitarian aid to the people afflicted by hunger and disease in Gaza, including children under five years of age, who are especially affected by malnutrition at this time. We will also be working to ensure that medical care is provided, food supplies are delivered, and accommodations are constructed,” says Mathias Mogge, the secretary general of Welthungerhilfe.
At the end of 2024, 1.84 million people in the Gaza Strip were going hungry, with around 133,000 of them under immediate threat of starvation. To adequately address the immense destruction and great need in Gaza, international humanitarian aid must be increased and must actually be delivered to the people in need, in part by lifting all restrictions and by opening the borders with Gaza up for humanitarian aid.
Together with our European partner CESVI and the Palestinian organization Juzoor, Welthungerhilfe is supporting more than 60,000 people in the hardest-hit areas by distributing essential food supplies as well as nutritional supplements for malnourished children, as needed, and by providing access to clean drinking water. Welthungerhilfe is also developing a program to assist the people of Gaza in making it through the winter, for instance by providing warm blankets and tent tarpaulins.
In their work, Welthungerhilfe and its partners strictly adhere to the humanitarian principles of neutrality, humanity, impartiality, and independence. Welthungerhilfe condemns the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in the strongest terms and calls for the immediate release of all remaining hostages. At the same time, it calls for a sustained ceasefire, for the protection of the civilian population and humanitarian workers, and for safe and unhindered access to be provided for the needed aid supplies as quickly as possible.
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organizations in Germany; it is politically independent and non-denominational. With courage and determination, it is striving for a world without hunger. Since it was founded on December 14, 1962, 12,128 overseas projects in about 72 countries have been supported with 5.07 billion euros. Welthungerhilfe follows the principle of empowering people to help themselves to sustainably improve their living conditions, offering everything from fast disaster relief to reconstruction and long-term development cooperation projects with national and international partner organizations.
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