The widely publicized statement that 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in 48 hours was corrected by the UN, which says the number refers to possible deaths over a year.
The statement, published in the today program BBC Radio 4 and repeated in the international media, was clarified by BBC as a misrepresentation of a humanitarian report that projected cases of malnutrition in children from six months to five years in a period of 12 months.
UN Humanitarian Aid Director Tom Fletcher said on Monday morning that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza for the next two days if Israel would not let help immediately, apparently based on an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report (IPC) Partnership.
The death of babies may occur in one year, according to the independent report on hunger cases in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with the Today BBCFletcher said, “There are 14,000 babies who will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them.”
When pressed on how he had reached that number, he said there were “teams on site” operating in medical centers and schools – but no further details.
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Later, the BBC He asked for clarification on the number of the UN Humanitarian Coordination Office (Unocha), who said: “We are drawing attention to the imperative need to bring supplies to save about 14,000 babies suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Gaza, as IPC’s partnership warned. We need to receive supplies as soon as possible, preferably 48 hours”.
He highlighted a report of the Integrated Food Security Stage (IPC) classification that said 14,100 severe cases of acute malnutrition should occur among children from six to 59 months of age between April 2025 and March 2026.
The IPC report says this can occur over approximately one year – not 48 hours.
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When pressed on the numbers at a press conference, Unocha spokesman Jens Laerke said, “For now, let me just say that we know for sure that there are babies who urgently need these supplements to save their lives, because their mothers cannot feed on their own.”
“And if they do not receive these supplements, they will be in danger of life,” he said.
Food entry
Israel allowed the entry of humanitarian aid in the “limited way” Gaza Strip. In practice, a few hundred trucks entered Palestinian territory surrounded by Israeli forces.
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On Wednesday, 21, three days after Israel announced that it would alleviate the blockade at the entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza, it seemed that little or no food, fuel and desperately necessary medicines had reached the hungry Palestinians.
Dozens of trucks carrying supplies have entered Gaza through the border passage of Kerem Shalom, controlled by Israel, according to the Israeli government. But the United Nations have not achieved any truck to take Kerem Shalom to warehouses inside Gaza, according to two UN employees, who asked for anonymity to reveal sensitive details.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujaric said on Tuesday, 20, that teams from the entity were waiting for several hours for Israeli permission to go to the border. But they failed to “guarantee the arrival” of these supplies to the warehouses, he said at a news conference.
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Awad stated that he and others were informed by the United Nations that some flour shipments could arrive on Wednesday. But even if they arrived they would represent only a small reduction in daily hunger that spread in Gaza under Israeli blockade.
This Thursday, 22, a bakery, in the center of the Gaza Strip, was baking bread again. Vladimir Jovcev of the UN World Food Program said that “it is definitely not enough, but we hope the borders will remain open and that we can bring more help.”
