COPENHAGEN, 22 August 2025 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons (Spain) reacted to recent reports of a famine in Gaza by calling for an immediate ceasefire and urgent facilitation of humanitarian aid in the region. He also urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon plans to recapture Gaza City.

In a statement today, President Pons said: “With the hunger crisis in Gaza at a tipping point, it is imperative that Israel do more to facilitate urgent aid to the growing numbers of civilians – including many children – facing starvation. It is absolutely unacceptable for this situation to continue and therefore I reiterate the OSCE PA’s previous calls for a ceasefire. Human lives must be the priority.”

Famine was formally confirmed today in parts of Gaza with almost a quarter of the population facing starvation, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the primary global hunger monitor working with the UN.

President Pons visited Israel and the occupied West Bank earlier this year together with a high-level delegation of parliamentarians for meetings in which securing a safe and stable life for people living in the region was in focus. In this regard, Pons recalled the PA’s consistent calls for Hamas to release remaining Israeli hostages.

Last month, the OSCE PA adopted a resolution in Porto, Portugal, which recognized that “reaching a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on two sovereign and mutually recognized States is an essential condition for ensuring the stability of the Mediterranean area and the collective security of the entire OSCE region.”