If a Ceasefire and Aid Access in Gaza Are Not Secured Immediately, the World Will Witness an Unprecedented Humanitarian Catastrophe — UN World Food Programme Chief Cindy McCain Warns
Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), has strongly emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire and immediate humanitarian access into Gaza.
“This is a tragedy. We need an immediate ceasefire, full and unhindered access, safe roads, and every gate must be opened—so we can feed people and stop this catastrophe. If we do not act now, this will become a humanitarian disaster, the likes of which I have said before — the world has never seen,” McCain said during an interview on Sunday’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
After 11 weeks of blockade, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began delivering aid this week. On May 19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced:
“Together with our American friends, we have established a distribution center-based system that will be secured by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), to prevent Hamas from accessing those areas.”
However, the distribution method implemented by GHF has faced criticism from the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations. Photos and videos emerging from Gaza show Palestinians waiting in long lines for aid. The UN has warned that Gaza is on the brink of famine.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 31 people were killed and 200 injured when Israeli forces fired at a GHF-operated aid distribution center in Rafah. However, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the Israeli Defense Forces said:
“At this moment, there is no evidence of fatalities caused by IDF fire. The matter is still under investigation.”
McCain added:
“They (GHF) haven’t had sufficient access. Not enough food is getting in. The kind of desperate situation we see in the footage is absolutely heartbreaking. For those of us doing this work, we know how complicated it is. But at the same time, we know how dire the humanitarian need is right now.”
Stephanopoulos: Have you coordinated with GHF this week?
McCain: “No, I haven’t personally. But there have been some meetings in Europe—on a few issues. We were part of some meetings and not part of others. But as of now, we haven’t seen any clear plan. Listen, we’re willing to work with anyone if it means feeding people. In this desperate situation, everyone must work together. This isn’t about who we will or won’t work with. We need access. We need Israel to let us in so we can do our job. We’re the best at what we do, and we can deliver food at scale—that is what matters most right now.”
On U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Comment:
Stephanopoulos: Rubio claims that “people are dying because USAID was shut down,” and that this is false. What’s your response?
McCain: “I’m not going to comment on internal U.S. political matters. But what I see on the ground—not just in Gaza but around the world—is that in many places, like Sudan, Congo, South Sudan, etc., the situation is extremely dire. In Gaza, we must get aid in fast—to prevent this catastrophe.”
