A United Nations chief warned yesterday that up to ‘14,000 babies’ in Gaza could die ‘within the next 48 hours’ if humanitarian aid doesn’t reach them promptly.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher emphasised the urgency of the situation, saying, “There are 14,000 babies who will die in the next 48 hours if we can’t reach them. I want to save as many of those 14,000 babies as possible in the next 48 hours.”
He stressed the urgent need to ‘flood Gaza with humanitarian aid’.
When asked how the UN plans to deliver aid to those many people, Fletcher replied: “We have strong teams on the ground – many of whom, of course, have been killed.”
“We still have many people on the ground, in medical centres and schools, trying to assess the needs,” he added.
“But this is what we do – we will keep working. It will be frustrating, and we’ll face massive risks and obstacles, but I can’t think of a better idea than getting baby food in,” he said.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed global hunger monitoring system, reported that Gaza’s hunger crisis is worsening, particularly after Israel blocked supply entry on March 2.
On Monday, Israel allowed nine trucks into Gaza. The UN said yesterday that it had received approval from Israel for about 100 aid trucks to enter.
However, the UN maintains that Gaza needs at least 500 trucks daily carrying aid and commercial goods. Throughout the conflict, aid trucks have been stuck at the Gaza border for weeks or months awaiting entry.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) spokesperson Louise Wateridge said yesterday that food supplies were nearly exhausted. Speaking from a warehouse in Jordan, she said that it contained food for 200,000 people, which could be delivered to Gaza within hours.
“Everything is empty. The warehouses and distribution centres have been empty for weeks.”
Israeli forces killed at least 55 Palestinians in air strikes in Gaza yesterday, local medics said. The war, now in its 20th month, has left Gaza in ruins and its population facing a worsening hunger crisis. It has strained Israel’s relations with much of the world and those with its closest ally, the United States, now appear to be wavering.
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