Storyline: Gaza's famine is already claiming lives, and aid delays and clearance barriers must be urgently resolved, warned Olga Trefko, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UCHA) in Gaza. In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Trefko said that the worst is yet to come unless urgent aid reaches people soon. More than half a million people in Gaza are facing famine conditions marked by starvation and preventable deaths, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released on August 22. The report points out that famine in Gaza City is now spreading southward to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. By the end of September, over 640,000 people are projected to face catastrophic food insecurity, with an additional 1.14 million at emergency levels and nearly 400,000 in crisis conditions. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly conducted the assessment. The report confirmed that thresholds for extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and hunger-related deaths have been breached, marking the first officially declared famine in the Middle East since the IPC was established. The analysis showed that acute child malnutrition has reached record levels, with more than 12,000 children identified in July alone - a sixfold increase since January. By mid-2026, some 43,400 children and 55,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women are expected to face life-threatening malnutrition. Shotlist: Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Recent: 1. Various of UN vehicle; Olga Trefko, spokesperson of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UCHA) in Gaza, walking 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Olga Trefko, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza (partially overlaid with shot 3): "Once this confirmation happens, in many ways it's already too late. And so that means that, of course, we've had people who have died from famine, from starvation, from malnutrition, and this is a very dangerous situation now. Unless it is addressed and the situation is reversed quickly, it will continue deteriorating and much faster now, and it will spread. And to be honest with you, I really am terrified to think how bad and how much worse it can get unless something is done very, very urgently." [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 3. Sign of UCHA on Trefko's polo shirt [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Aug 23, 2025: 4. Various of mother of malnourished child taking care of child in ward, holding child's hand Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Recent: 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Olga Trefko, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza: "What needs to happen is more volume of supplies need to be entering on a daily basis to ensure that it's enough for everybody's needs to be addressed here. And the second thing that needs to happen is the impediments that we face collecting these supplies need to be removed. These impediments include delays when we go and collect supplies from the crossings, because most of the time we spend many, many hours just waiting for the authorization to move, for clearances, for checks, for various things that end up taking 12 hours, 16 hours, 20 hours for missions to be completed." Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Aug 23, 2025: 6. Various of destroyed buildings, displaced people, tents. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]