President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has condemned the relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza, branding the spiraling humanitarian crisis as “unacceptable” and a damning reflection of global inaction.
Speaking to India’s Firstpost during his state visit on August 6, Marcos painted a grim picture of a territory battered by war, famine, and despair.
“The death, the destruction, and now the starvation — they should not be happening in this day and age,” he stressed. “Everywhere else, the consensus is clear: the humanitarian cost of Gaza’s suffering is unacceptable.”
Marcos warned that without real pressure on Israel to allow the entry of aid, the humanitarian disaster would deepen. Yet, he admitted that solutions are complicated.
“What can one do unless we forcibly intervene? Nobody wants to do that either,” he said. “It’s a very, very difficult situation. Even President [Donald] Trump said it’s up to Israel. We can pass UN resolutions, but it has to be them to decide.”
The Philippines has already joined 148 nations in backing a United Nations resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent” ceasefire, while condemning starvation and the blockade of aid as acts of war.
Marcos expressed outrage over Israel’s reported plan to seize full control of Gaza City — a move Hamas has decried as a “new war crime.”
He called on the United States to take a harder stance.
“Maybe Washington could exercise a stronger hand,” he suggested. “If the U.S. stopped sending weapons, that would drastically reduce the attacks. Short of that, I understand why European countries are now talking about recognizing a Palestinian state.”
The president also drew parallels to the Philippines’ own disputes in the West Philippine Sea, insisting that diplomacy and peace should always be the goal.
“We don’t talk about forces and attacks — we talk about peace. That’s what we push,” he said.
With over 61,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the war began, and millions on the brink of famine, Marcos lamented the world’s failure to prevent such atrocities.
“This is 2025. I thought humanity had learned its lesson,” he said. “Unfortunately, I was wrong.”
The conflict erupted after the October 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed 1,219 people in Israel. Nearly two years later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing international pressure to end the fighting, free hostages, and open the door for life-saving aid.