Palestinians carry gallons and buckets as they walk along a war-damaged street in Gaza City on August 8, 2025. Bashar Taleb, AFP
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lamented the current state of war-torn Gaza amid continued attacks from Israel, calling the humanitarian cost "unacceptable".
In an interview with Indian media Firstpost, the president called the situation "deteriorating" due to deaths and starvation in Gaza.
READ: Israel orders army to execute gov't decisions on Gaza
"I don't know what they say in Israel, but everywhere else I think it is unanimous that the humanitarian cost of the continued attacks on Gaza is unacceptable," Marcos Jr. said while on his state visit in India Wednesday, August 6.
"The death, the destruction, and now the starvation that is occurring, they should not be happening in this day and age. We should not allow this," he added.
Marcos Jr. believes Israel should be pressured in order to allow aid in Gaza.
"But what can one do unless we go in there and forcibly - nobody wants to do that either. So it is a very, very difficult situation. And it is really — I was watching the news earlier, and President [Donald] Trump said it's up to Israel," the president said.
"It has to be them to decide. We can put pressure on them. We can have resolutions in the United Nations," he further added.
In June, the Philippines joined 148 countries in voting in favor of a United Nations resolution demanding "immediate, unconditional, and permanent" ceasefire in the war in Gaza.
The resolution also strongly condemns the "use of starvation and the denial of aid as tactics of war" and demands Israel to "immediately lift the blockade on Gaza and open all border crossings for aid deliveries".
He also expressed dismay at Israel’s plan to take control of all Gaza.
Israel's military will "take control" of Gaza City under a new plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, it was reported on Friday. Hamas has denounced the plan to expand the fighting as a "new war crime".
READ: Israeli army will 'take control' of Gaza City
Marcos Jr. also said that more could have been done to stop the Israeli establishment "if there was political will".
He also put forth the idea for the United States to put more pressure on Israel.
"Maybe the United States could exercise a stronger hand in influencing the Israeli leadership to recognize the humanitarian cost," the President noted.
"But again, at the end of the day, well, if the United States stops sending weapons, then perhaps that would be a big diminution in terms of attacks. But short of that, I can see the frustration of the European countries. That's why they're starting to talk about recognizing a Palestinian state," he added.
The commander-in-chief further underscored the need to always push for peace amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
"Certainly, from the part of the Philippines, again, of course we are your allies, but we are always for peace. Even our own situation with the West Philippine Sea, with the South China Sea, we don't talk about the forces against this and attacking that. We talk about peace, and that's what we push," he noted.
"And I thought, you know, this is 2025. I thought humanity had learned its lesson already. Unfortunately, I was wrong," he concluded.
Nearly two years into the war in Gaza, Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to secure a truce to pull the territory's more than two million people back from the brink of famine and free the hostages held by Palestinian militants.
Israel's offensive has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.
The 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. -- with a report from Agence France-Presse