In an Interview with the BBC on Tuesday with UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned that as many as 14,000 babies’ lives are at risk; they could die in Gaza, Palestine, within 48 hours if no more aid enters the war-torn enclave.
“There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them… We run all sorts of risks trying to get that baby food through to those mothers who cannot feed their children right now because they’re malnourished,” he said, speaking to BBC’s Radio 4.
When asked how the UN worked out that 14,000 babies were at a risk of starvation in Gaza, Fletcher said teams of the United Nations are working in places such as medical centres and schools to assess need.
“We have strong teams on the ground — and of course many of them have been killed… we he still have lots of people on the ground — they’re at the medical centres, they’re at the schools…trying to assess needs,” he said.
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Fletcher’s comments are significant; they came after Israel allowed the entry of just five aid trucks into Gaza on Monday — a “drop in the ocean” of what Palestinians need. “Let’s be clear, those five trucks are just sat on the other side of the border right now, they’ve not reached the communities they need to reach,” Fletcher said.
Yair Golan, a left-wing opposition figure and former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli army, criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, warning that Israel risks becoming “a pariah state” due to the Gaza war, following a UN official’s remarks.
“A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a pastime, and does not engage in mass population displacement,” said Golan in a charged interview with local radio station Reshet Bet.
He further added, “The Jewish people, who have endured persecution, pogroms, and genocides throughout our history … are the ones now taking actions that are utterly unconscionable.”
