Human rights activist Martin Luther King III and academician Rajmohan Gandhi on Thursday called for humanitarian aid to be made available to the people of Gaza without obstruction or delay.

Martin Luther King III, the son of late American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, and Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, said that the continued violence in the besieged Palestinian territory does not bring justice and only “multiplies suffering”.

They requested world leaders and regional actors to “act now”, saying that the “international community must not look away”.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after Palestinian militant group Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, leaving more than 61,000 persons dead.

Tel Aviv has also enforced a blockade on humanitarian aid, which the United Nations say has brought the population to the verge of famine.

Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks since July 6. Earlier efforts to reinstate a brief ceasefire that took effect in January had stalled due to major disagreements between the two sides.

Read the full text of their appeal below:

We speak today, not only as descendants of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi, but as members of a human family wounded by the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Our hearts are burdened by the cries of innocent civilians – especially children – caught in a tragic storm of violence, displacement, and deprivation. At the same time, we recognize the deep pain of Israeli families whose loved ones remain in captivity. Their agony, too, is ours.

Let us, in our pain, not forget the words of Mahatma Gandhi: "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” The continued violence does not bring justice – it multiplies suffering. We echo this truth and call, with urgency and love, for an immediate end to the bloodshed. All hostages must be safely released. Humanitarian aid – food, water, and medicine – must reach the people of Gaza without obstruction or delay.

We say to the world: The children of Gaza are our children. The Israeli hostages held in fear and silence are our family. No child should know starvation; no parent should wait in anguish for a child who may never return. This nightmare must end.

As Dr Martin Luther King Jr reminded us, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Peace in the Middle East cannot be built on the rubble of broken bodies and shattered trust. It must rise from the dignity of every human being, Israeli and Palestinian alike, living in equal dignity as neighbours.

We appeal to world leaders and regional actors: act now—not with vengeance, but with vision. The time has come for courageous diplomacy, rooted in justice and compassion. The international community must not look away. The road to reconciliation will be long, but it begins with the first steps of mercy and moral clarity.

Let us rise above division, hatred, and despair – and affirm, with firm hearts and open hands, that a just peace is not only necessary, but possible.

— Martin Luther King III and Rajmohan Gandhi