Analysis of food security in the territory published in the IPC Special Snapshot found that over 1.2 million people or 59 per cent of the population faced crisis or worse conditions between mid-April and June 2026.

The parish priest of Gaza’s only Catholic church appealed for urgent humanitarian assistance, warning that the situation in the territory is “disastrous” and “people are living with nothing”.

“Reconstruction is certainly essential, but so too are all the basic necessities of everyday life,” Fr. Gabriel Romanelli IVE of the Holy Family Church in Gaza told the Italian news agency SIR.

In a video message shared on social media, the Argentine priest said: “When people say the situation here is disastrous, believe me: it truly is disastrous. If anything, it would require an even stronger adjective.”

He explained that people are unable to access basic transportation. All but one of the parish’s cars are out of operation due to a lack of spare parts to fix them.

A major challenge, he said, is the price of diesel at US$13 a liter. “The quality of what little [fuel] can still be found is terrible, and unfortunately fraud is also widespread.”

Fr. Romanelli explained that people in Gaza have begun to try to produce homemade fuel from burning and distilling recovered plastic and nylon. “The problem is that these fuels are still of extremely poor quality,” and can damage generators and vehicles, he said.

Fr. Romanelli even considered resorting to a donkey and cart but this too was prohibitively expensive. He explained that people need transportation to reach hospitals, workplaces and schools, or to visit the sick and deliver aid.

“Gaza is not so small that everything can be done on foot,” he said, especially with “so many roads completely destroyed”.

According to the latest UN Security Council Report on Gaza, the food security situation remains “dire”. Analysis of the territory published in the IPC Special Snapshot on 23 July found that over 1.2 million people or 59 per cent of the population faced crisis or worse conditions between mid-April and June 2026.

The figure is projected to rise to 1.4 million people between July and December, as declining aid since February 2026 could quickly reverse progress for a population which remains almost entirely dependent on external assistance and aid.