The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed grave concerns over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip through a statement on social media platform X. The ministry, headed by Paulo Rangel, described the situation as “unsustainable.”
The statement further read, “We reiterate the call for an immediate end to hostilities, the release of hostages, and the large-scale resumption of humanitarian aid.”
Recent Israeli attacks in Gaza have resulted in the deaths of at least 92 people, including women, children, and two journalists, according to local authorities in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave.
Simultaneously, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed doubts today about the survival of three hostages who were previously considered alive in Gaza.
O MNE está profundamente preocupado com os planos de expansão das operações militares de Israel em Gaza. A situação humanitária é insustentável. Reiteramos o apelo ao fim imediato das hostilidades, à libertação dos reféns e à retoma em grande escala da ajuda humanitária.
— Negócios Estrangeiros PT (@nestrangeiro_pt) May 7, 2025
The latest wave of attacks comes after Israel recently approved a plan to escalate operations in the Palestinian enclave, which includes capturing Gaza, maintaining seized territories, forcibly relocating Palestinians to southern Gaza, and controlling aid distribution, in partnership with private security firms.
More than 30 independent United Nations experts urged states to “act now” to prevent the “annihilation of Palestinians” in the Gaza Strip.
These experts, mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but not representing the UN, stated that each state faces a “clear choice: remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or engage in crafting a just resolution.”
The stated goal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is to dismantle the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and secure the release of hostages kidnapped during the unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack, with 58 hostages still held in Gaza, according to the Israeli military—only 24 of whom are alive.
Israel declared war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, to eradicate the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, in response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack in Israel, which claimed about 1,200 lives, mostly civilians, and led to the abduction of 251 people.
The conflict in the Palestinian territory has so far resulted in 52,653 deaths, mostly civilians, including over 18,000 children, along with more than 112,000 injuries. Approximately 11,000 individuals are missing, presumed buried under rubble, with several thousand more dying from disease, infections, and starvation, according to local authorities, figures considered reliable by the UN.
The humanitarian situation in the heavily bombed and war-torn enclave continues to deteriorate as Israel has blocked the entry of food, water, humanitarian aid, and medicine into Gaza since March 2.
