The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has publicly challenged statements made by Thorsten Frei, Head of the German Chancellery, regarding aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, OCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko stated that the volume of aid entering Gaza since a relaxation of the Israeli supply blockade represents “still only a fraction of what is needed.
Frei had previously asserted on the ntv broadcaster that daily deliveries to Gaza were now exceeding the amount necessary to prevent famine.
Cherevko, currently located within Gaza, also refuted Frei’s claim that “up to 90 and more percent” of aid shipments are being seized by Hamas, terrorist groups and gangs. She described a situation where UN convoys regularly face “tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people” who gather along delivery routes, often taking food from trucks out of desperation to feed their families.
Cherevko attributed the ongoing situation to continued impediments and restrictions on aid delivery. This criticism directly targets Israeli authorities, a recurring concern raised by humanitarian organizations. According to OCHA’s latest figures, only 47 percent of planned aid transports were successfully completed between July 23rd and July 29th. The remaining shipments were either prohibited by the Israeli military or cancelled due to on-the-ground conditions.
