‘Unthinkable’ catastrophe developing in Gaza – UN spokeswoman

Israel is obstructing aid deliveries as people starve and convoy routes become impassable, Olga Cherevko tells RT

A major catastrophe has developed in Gaza as UN aid convoys face systematic delays and worsening restrictions, UN spokeswoman Olga Cherevko has told RT. 

Israeli forces are obstructing food deliveries while malnutrition and starvation intensify across the Palestinian enclave, she explained in an interview which aired on Saturday.

Cherevko, who represents the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), described how aid convoys are being held up for hours at Israeli checkpoints. “One convoy takes 18 hours to run from Deir al-Balah to Kerem Shalom – a distance of just 24 kilometers,” she said. “We are given routes that are dangerous, routes we cannot pass, routes that are congested.”

She explained that, during the last ceasefire, the UN had “unfettered access” and was able to deliver aid rapidly. “We could run multiple convoys a day. There were no holding points, no green lights, no waiting for authorizations to move,” Cherevko told RT. “Now all of this is in place and it constrains us severely.”

She also claimed that over 1,300 people have been reported killed either at militarized distribution sites or while waiting along convoy routes. 

The spokeswoman warned that Gaza is experiencing a full-blown starvation crisis and that “the lives of over 2 million people are at stake.”

“A catastrophe of unthinkable proportions has developed and is developing even further,” Cherevko cautioned. 

No one should be forced to risk their life to eat.

Every day, @UN teams collect critical supplies from Gaza’s crossings, bringing them to those struggling to survive.

But movement is often delayed, and desperate crowds who gather to offload, are met with gunfire.#Gaza today⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ag8NcwZlm1

— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) July 30, 2025

The UN has confirmed that two out of three famine thresholds have been met in Gaza. Since April, 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition, and 16 have died from hunger-related causes.

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The war in Gaza began in October 2023 when Hamas led an attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,250 people and taking 250 hostages. The IDF has since killed more than 60,000 people in the besieged enclave, according to recent UN estimates.

Israeli media reported earlier this week, citing US special envoy Steve Witkoff, that Hamas had allegedly expressed a willingness to disarm. However, on Saturday, the militant group denied the claims, insisting on its right to resist Israeli occupation.