UN, BBC walk back Gaza infant death toll claim

A top official had falsely claimed that 14,000 infants faced death within 48 hours. The United Nations and the BBC on Wednesday corrected a dramatic claim that 14,000 infants in the Gaza Strip faced death within 48 hours, clarifying that the figure actually refers to children at risk of severe malnutrition over the course of a full year.

U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher made the claim on BBC Radio 4‘s “Today” program, saying: “There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them.” The comment was quickly picked up by national media outlets, cited in U.K. parliamentary debates and referenced in international diplomatic discussions.

After asking the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for clarification, the BBC reported that the remarks were based on a report that warned that 14,100 severe cases of acute malnutrition were expected to occur between April 2025 and March 2026 among children aged between six months and five years.   (Read More)