UN: Unthinkable Catastrophe Unfolding in Gaza

By Staff, Agencies

UN spokeswoman Olga Cherevko warned that a major catastrophe has developed in Gaza as UN aid convoys face systematic delays and worsening restrictions.

"Israeli" occupation forces [IOF] are obstructing food deliveries while malnutrition and starvation intensify across the Palestinian enclave, she explained.

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 said. “Now all of this is in place and it constrains us severely.”

She also lamented the fact that over 1,300 people have been reported martyred 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.

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 lost their lives from hunger-related causes.