VIENNA, 3rd September, 2025 (WAM) -- Four Austrian relief organisations today called on the Austrian government to take immediate action to demand an “immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” and to protect civilians, medical and humanitarian workers, journalists, patients, and healthcare facilities.
In a joint gathering in front of the Austrian Prime Minister’s Office, Caritas, Diakonie, Doctors Without Borders, and SOS Children’s Villages urged that the Cabinet place the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on its agenda, enabling the government to take all possible political, diplomatic, and economic measures to end the war there.
Alexander Bodmann, Vice President Caritas Austria, urged Austrian politicians to act, saying that silence is not an option, and politicians must act now. He pointed out that there is sufficient support in society for taking concrete steps, and stressed that vital relief supplies must not be used as a military tool to pressure the civilian population suffering from hunger in Gaza.
Christian Moser, Managing Director of SOS Children's Villages Austria, spoke about the critical situation of children in Gaza, with thousands suffering from severe malnutrition while most of the schools have been destroyed.
Children are losing their childhood and any hope of a safe future, he said.
The organisations’ message to the Austrian government included calls to adopt measures to combat hunger, end the blockade preventing aid delivery to Gaza, protect civilians, medical and humanitarian workers, journalists, patients, and healthcare facilities, and lift restrictions on medicines and medical equipment.