UN warns: 14,000 babies could die in Gaza without urgent aid
Shafaq News / The United Nations warned that up to 14,000 infants in Gaza could die within the next 48 hours if life-saving humanitarian aid does not reach them immediately.
Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian coordinator, told BBC’s Today on programme Tuesday that the organization had received permission to send around 100 aid trucks into the besieged enclave — the first such authorization in 11 weeks. However, only five trucks were allowed entry.
“I want to save as many of these 14,000 babies as we can in the next 48 hours,” Fletcher said, underscoring the urgent need to “flood the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid.”
A foot in the door. Thank you to all who helped get this opening, and are pressing for us to scale it up urgently and seriously. We need lifesaving aid in. Hostages out. Ceasefire. Security, justice and opportunity for Palestinians and Israelis. https://t.co/loo6nOMKLM
— Tom Fletcher (@TFletcher) May 19, 2025
His remarks came shortly after a joint statement from the United Kingdom, France, and Canada threatened to take “concrete actions” if Israel does not alter its military operation in Gaza and lift aid restrictions. Fletcher welcomed the “robust words,” but stressed that the “real test” lies in whether the UN can substantially increase the volume of aid reaching civilians on the ground.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has drastically worsened amid continued Israeli military operations. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of catastrophic shortages of food, medicine, and fuel, particularly impacting newborns and young children.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s large-scale assault on Gaza — described by Palestinian authorities as a campaign of genocide — has resulted in over 174,000 people killed or wounded, most of them women and children. More than 11,000 remain missing, according to local sources.
The crisis has intensified further since March 2, when Israel imposed a near-total blockade on aid. Since then, 57 children have died from malnutrition, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports.
"طلع جعان راح يجيب طحين".. وداع صعب لشـــهيد قتله الاحتلال وهو يحاول البحث عن الطحين في ظل المجاعة بغزة. pic.twitter.com/cxIpC9ttyv
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) May 20, 2025
According to UNICEF, if conditions do not improve, nearly 71,000 children under the age of five are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition within the next 11 months. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) snapshot, released last week, revealed that 470,000 people are facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5), and the entire population of Gaza is now classified as acutely food insecure.
The report also estimated that more than 17,000 mothers will require urgent treatment for acute malnutrition, in addition to the tens of thousands of children already at risk.
