UN: 14,000 malnourished children in Gaza 'at risk of death' within a year
The figure has made headlines across the media: 'UN says 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours under Israeli aid blockade', reported British daily The Guardian in its morning newsletter on May 20.
The figure was provided the same day by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher. It was then picked up by several English-speaking media outlets, such as NBC. A number of French media organisations also shared the number, including broadcaster TV5 Monde, French weekly Le Nouvel Obs, or FRANCE 24's English edition, which used a report by Agence France-Presse.
These reports all highlighted the growing international pressure on Israel to permit humanitarian aid into Gaza. On May 19, Israel had just announced it would allow a limited amount of aid into the enclave, following an 11-week blockade.
Numerous organisations had denounced the blockade. On May 12, Beth Bechdol, the deputy director-general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), told French daily Le Monde that Gaza is facing 'one of the worst food crises in the world'.
In the UK, MP Olivia Blake also used the figure of 14,000 babies to ask Foreign Secretary David Lammy what further action would be taken by the government 'to bring this devastation to an end'.
In France, several MPs from the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) also shared this number. Among them is LFI MP David Guiraud, who shared the May 20 BBC 4 interview of Fletcher, who originally provided the figure.
'Let me describe what is on those trucks. This is baby food, baby nutrition. There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them,' Fletcher said in the interview.
BBC interviewer Anna Foster responded, '14,000 babies in 48 hours is an extraordinary figure.' 'It's chilling. It's utterly chilling,' Fletcher replied, vowing to 'keep going' in delivering the aid.
14,000 children with severe acute malnutrition 'at risk of death' by April 2026, IPC says
The BBC questioned Fletcher about the source of the 14,000 babies figure, as detailed in an article published the same day. In response, Fletcher said he relied on 'strong teams on the ground' – but provided no further details.
When asked for clarification by the BBC, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said the figure came from a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
The IPC is a UN-backed tool that classifies the severity and magnitude of food insecurity and acute malnutrition worldwide. In its latest report on the Gaza Strip, published May 12, the IPC states that the enclave is 'still confronted with a critical risk of famine', adding that 'the entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people (one in five) facing starvation'.
As to the number of malnourished children, the IPC reports that 14,100 children aged 6 months to 5 years old are actually experiencing 'severe acute malnutrition'.
When contacted by FRANCE 24 on May 21, the IPC clarified this figure and the situation of the 14,100 children, explaining, 'If they don't get access to enough food, these children are at risk of death if they're not treated over a one-year period.'
As humanitarian organisations like Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) or UNICEF highlight, severe acute malnutrition 'results from insufficient energy, fat and/or other nutrients to cover individual needs'. It often manifests as a 'skeletal appearance resulting from significant loss of muscle mass and subcutaneous fat' or a 'shiny skin which may crack, weep, and become infected'.
Fletcher thus falsely claimed that '14,000 babies' could die within the next 48 hours. This figure refers to children aged 6 months to 5 years old, and is a projection over a year.
In the following days, several pro-Israel accounts accused Fletcher of 'lying'. When questioned by the BBC on May 20, the UNOCHA clarified the figure, pointing 'to the imperative of getting supplies in to save an estimated 14,000 babies suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Gaza, as the IPC partnership has warned about.
'We need to get the supplies in as soon as possible, ideally within the next 48 hours,' they added.
Gaza's humanitarian crisis remains dire
Despite the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Israeli army is still largely obstructing aid deliveries.
On May 19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the partial resumption of humanitarian aid to the enclave. But the UN reported on May 21 that it had only collected a total of around 90 truckloads of aid for Gaza. Before October 7, 2023, and during the ceasefire between January 19 and March 2, about 500 trucks of aid entered Gaza daily.
On May 12, while Israel still fully blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza, the IPC stated: 'Over 60 days have passed since all humanitarian aid and commercial supplies were blocked from entering the territory. Goods indispensable for people's survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks.'
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