The UN has issued a dire warning that 14,000 infants in Gaza are at risk of dying within days unless they receive immediate food and medical assistance. This warning comes as Israel has permitted a limited number of humanitarian aid trucks to enter the blockaded territory for the first time in several weeks.
According to the UN, it received permission on Tuesday to send approximately 100 aid trucks into Gaza after an 11-week blockade.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher cautioned that without urgent nutrition and care, 14,000 babies in Gaza are in danger of dying within 48 hours. He noted that only five trucks entered on Monday, calling the situation “catastrophic” and the current aid delivery as merely “a drop in the ocean.”
He stated, “This is not food that Hamas is going to steal. We run the risk of looting, of being hit by the Israeli offensive. We will be impeded, we will run huge risks, but I don’t see a better idea than getting that baby food in, to those moms, who at the moment cannot feed their own kids.”
Prior to the conflict, an average of 500 aid trucks entered Gaza daily. This changed dramatically on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and the capture of around 250 hostages. Israel responded by imposing a complete siege on Gaza, immediately stopping all goods, including humanitarian aid, from entering. The blockade initiated a prolonged crisis, with only a small portion of the previous aid levels being allowed in since then.
The worsening humanitarian crisis is unfolding amid renewed offensive. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that at least 38 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes within a 30-minute period on Tuesday morning.
On the same day that aid was partially restored, the U.K., France, and Canada jointly condemned Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian access, deeming them “wholly inadequate.” They called for an end to the military campaign and threatened “further concrete actions” if Israel does not comply.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on Tuesday, accusing the Western leaders of rewarding “the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7” and affirmed that Israel would continue its military operations until “total victory is achieved.”
Earlier this month, Israel formally announced , stating its ultimate goal was to occupy the entire territory. Airstrikes intensified following former President Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East over the weekend.
, May 19, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. As of Monday, since the war began stood at more than 53,000.
The UN and aid organizations have cautioned that the deteriorating humanitarian conditions are being intensified by ongoing bombardments of essential infrastructure. On Tuesday, Medical Aid for Palestinians urged the urgent protection of Gaza’s healthcare facilities following the bombing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
“Nasser Hospital is the backbone of what healthcare remains in southern Gaza,” the group stated. “The hospital has been targeted twice in the last week and, with each assault, risks being shut down entirely, pushing Gaza’s health system closer to total annihilation.”
“The attack damaged medical supplies essential for lifesaving treatments and is a further violation of international law. It marks yet another assault in Israel’s campaign to systematically dismantle Gaza’s health system,” it continued.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that Israeli strikes also hit Al Awda hospital in northern Gaza on Monday. Two clinics in Khan Younis were forced to close after one was “directly attacked.”
OCHA also reported that on Tuesday, Israeli authorities issued new evacuation orders affecting 40 neighborhoods in Khan Younis—about 23% of Gaza’s total area. “Thousands of people and hundreds of humanitarian facilities, including wells, pumping stations, health facilities, and schools, are impacted,” the agency said.
According to the UN, more than half a million people have been displaced across Gaza since Israel ended the ceasefire in mid-March.
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