Debunked: UN official's claim 14,000 Gazan babies could die in 48 hours was untrue

[lapucelle]

Source: Times of Israel

Debunked: UN official’s claim 14,000 Gazan babies could die in 48 hours was untrue

After a top UN official told the BBC yesterday that some 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours if aid does not reach them in time, the British broadcaster clarifies that this claim was false and based on an incorrect interpretation of a report issued by the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, claimed yesterday on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” show: “There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them. I want to save as many as these 14,000 babies as we can in the next 48 hours.”

The claim was widely reported in international media outlets, including The Times of Israel, and was repeatedly cited by UK lawmakers during a House of Commons debate yesterday.

However, BBC now says that after asking the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for clarification, it turns out the remarks were based on an IPC 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: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/debunked-un-officials-claim-14000-gazan-babies-could-die-in-48-hours-was-untrue/

---

BBC (which aired the original claim) also issued a correction of sorts.

[T]he UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the BBC thousands of babies could die in Gaza if Israel does not immediately let aid in. Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Mr Fletcher said: "There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them."

When pressed on how he had arrived at that figure, he said there were "strong teams on the ground" operating in medical centres and schools - but did not provide further details.

The BBC later asked for clarification on the figure from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), which said: "We are 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."

snip==================

When pressed on the figures at a news conference, UNOCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said: "For now let me just say that we know for a fact that there are babies who are in urgent life-saving need of these supplements that need to come in because their mothers are unable to feed themselves."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk2264nrn2o

[AZLD4Candidate]

1. what a shock.

For those who want to know, here is how people here reacted to this bullshit, showing that we will believe anything anti-Israel.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143462299

[Richard D]

3. I'm sure that any moment now...

... Their sincerely worded apologies will be flooding in.

[iemanja]

4. Apologies for the plan to wipe Gaza off the face of the map?

For blocking all humanitarian aid and firing at diplomats, not to mention targeting young children? Bibi is the one who needs to apologize, but that would require a conscience and human decency.

[lapucelle]

10. Apologies by the UN for their spokesman spreading propaganda.

An apology might also be due to the families of the Jewish couple murdered in cold blood last by a loon who yelled "Free, free Palestine" as he was being arrested.

I wonder if the "activist" had heard the UN spokesman's propaganda and decided that the solution was to murder random Jews.

[Beastly Boy]

13. Apologies for lending unconditional support for incompetent lying leaders at the UN.

[Richard D]

16. Wow.

Deplorable.

[iemanja]

25. My post is supposedly deplorable

Last edited Thu May 22, 2025, 12:51 PM - Edit history (1)

But you don’t condemn the extermination of Gazans by the Israeli govt. Side1) calling out the reality of what’s going on in Gaza, 2) killing tens thousands and announcing plans to kill all 2 million Gazans. It shouldn’t be hard to figure out which of those two acts is actually deplorable.

[Richard D]

31. Delusional

[AZLD4Candidate]

18. for this topic, this is a strawman. This is about the UN lying, not Israel. Please stick to the topic

[iemanja]

21. I am on topic

You want to make the discussion small because the situation in Gaza is indefensible.

[AZLD4Candidate]

69. No, I want to keep the discussion on the topic of the OP. You are trying to muddy the waters.

This topic is about the UN lying and getting caught. . .again.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

70. Hey, you know, when the facts don't fit the narrative,

then distract, hijack, etc. the topic.

That old saying goes, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit.

[AZLD4Candidate]

71. Agree. It seems the tenor of the argument is "I don't care where the information comes from or if it's been debunked,

Israel is evil and nothing will make me think otherwise."

Confirmation bias is both on our side and the MAGAt side and it's just as destructive and counter productive on either side.

[rollin74]

2. K&R

[Intractable]

5. What number of starving babies is acceptable?

[lapucelle]

6. Sorry, that doen't work on me. This story is about a UN official making a fabulist claim

on Britain's most popular morning radio show. That lie went out to millions of people and became viral to the point that it was discussed in Parliament.

And last night two Jews were murdered in cold blood leaving an event at the Jewish Museum.

[Intractable]

8. Sorry, that doesn't work on me.

Sure, they exaggerated. Anyone can see that.

But what of all the lies Bibi told. The ethnic cleansing of Gaza was the plan from the start.

It's a shame two people were killed at the museum. 50,000 dead in Gaza.

From Google:

Here's a summary of the casualties based on reports:

Gaza: Over 50,000 Palestinians have been reported killed in Gaza since October 2023, with the total number including those presumed dead under rubble potentially exceeding 61,700.
West Bank: In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, reports indicate that at least 905 Palestinians have been killed, including 181 children, since October 2023.

Reliability and Controversy:

Gaza Health Ministry Figures: The Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) is a primary source for casualty figures in Gaza. Their figures are cited by various organizations, including the UN and media outlets.

[lapucelle]

11. How interesting to frame fabulist propaganda as an "exaggeration"

and then attempt to support a debunked claim with irrelevant "data" from the Hamas GHM sourced on Google without a citation or link.

But by all means, spin away. It's amusing to watch.

[Beastly Boy]

14. How does counting dead babies mitigate pervasive lies and incompetence coming from UN?

Only by deflecting from it.

If you have nothing to say about it, don't say it. And if you want to discuss something else, start your own thread.

[lapucelle]

17. You tried that already. It didn't work.

[Intractable]

29. You think you won an argument?

The only thing you have convinced me is that if Israel does it, it's okay with you.

I find your waving at me to be highly insincere. It shall not be returned.

[lapucelle]

56. There is no argument to win because you are not making an argument.

Posing irrelevant questions and attempting to deflect via straw men are errors in reasoning.

Since you don't like the wave and the donut, let's try this in recognition of the logical flaws in your methods of *argument*.

[Intractable]

64. At this point, you are just trying to up your post count. Yes, the UN lied.

It pales in comparison to the number of actual dead. That's real.

But, your narrow focus on the UN lying about a number is what's important to you.

Such moral superiority.

[lapucelle]

57. Oh, what the hell...

[iemanja]

23. Quit the propaganda

Netanyahu has sworn to level Gaza and every last Palestinian with it. Quibbling about the exact number already killed is absurd when he’s announced plans to kill all 2 million Gazans.

[Richard D]

67. Delusional

[lapucelle]

72. That line is best directed at the UN spokesman who spread his fabulist propaganda on a BBC radio show,

not someone who posted an LBN story about the debunking of the UN spokeman's propaganda and an additional link to a story about the BBC confronting the UN propagandist's false claim in real time, the BBC issuing a correction for what the UN propagandist said, and a different UN spokesman being forced to address and back away from his colleague's made up claim.

[Cha]

79. Boom. 💙🌈

Here's some more "post count" for you, lapucelle.

Talk about a way to "lose an argument".

[JustAnotherGen]

37. And that happened here in the US

What if they had NOT been diplomatic staff? Regardless - two human beings were wiped out on our soil over BLOOD LIBEL.

[stillcool]

52. a legitimate claim with the wrong time line

not that it matters at all, because well...who cares?

However, BBC now says that after asking the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for clarification, it turns out the remarks were based on an IPC 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.

[lapucelle]

58. At best, it's a fabulist lie. At worst it's outright propaganda

"14,000 babies could die within the next 48 hours" is nothing like "There could be 14,000 cases of severe malnutrition among children within the next year".

Yeah, so, the timeline was wrong.
The demographic was wrong.
And the prognosis was wrong.

What part of the claim was *legitimate*?

[stillcool]

60. the demographic? The prognosis?

Read the report, when it comes out? Contact the BBC?

[lapucelle]

66. The UN propagandist named the demographic as "babies"

and the prognosis as “death within 48 hours”.

Maybe the UN spokesman should have read the report before he went on the airwaves to spread propaganda.

The BBC challenged the claim in real time and issued a correction, so there is no need to contact them, unless of course you’d like to advise them to screen their guests more carefully.

[lapucelle]

7. What number of outright lies by UN officials is acceptable to you?

[Intractable]

9. None. But they are all lying, aren't they?

The fact remains that Israel is severely restricting aid to Gaza, and people are dying because of it. And it's just fine by you.

[Beastly Boy]

15. UN is lying and using fake death numbers. Like the lies from Hamas, they are discrediting themselves and your own posts

that take their lies for granted. This affects your credibility. They make your own arguments less legitimate and more unbelievable.

How is this OK with you? Why doesn't this raise any objections from you?

[Intractable]

30. None of this is okay with me. That's why Israel has to stop. They are creating the next generation of hate

and terrorism.

Stopping this war won't stop antisemitism. But continuing the war will make it worse.

[Beastly Boy]

47. Israel has to stop because UN is lying?

I am sorry, but the logic of this premise completely escapes me.

[Intractable]

65. Israel has to stop the war -- period. D'uh!

[MarineCombatEngineer]

68. I notice you didn't say anything about HAMAs stopping the war,

very interesting.
Ya know, if HAMAs had just honored the cease fire in place and stayed on their side of the border, maybe, instead of stealing food and supplies, hiding their C&C, weapons systerms among the civilian pop., you know, hospitals, schools, civilian apt. buildings, using the citizens of Gaza as human shields, etc., we wouldn't even be debating this, but here we are.

Face the cold hard facts, HAMAs, Hizbollah, Iran, etc. don't give a rat's ass about civilians getting injured or killed, in fact, they revel in it because they use it for propaganda purposes to turn the world against Israel, the more injured or dead Palestinians, the better for them, and I do gotta hand to HAMAs' propaganda arm, they've succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, now they're demanding a cease fire, the purpose of to regroup, re-arm and attack again and again until they've reached their stated goal, the elimination of Israel and all Jews world wide.

[AZLD4Candidate]

80. Israel are genocidal madmen. Hamas are righteous freedom fighters.

In other news, up is down, day is night, paper is plastic, and wet is dry.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

19. And there it is,

the attempted deflection from the actual thread.
Great job there.

[Intractable]

27. You are saying the UN lied. If so, then what is the correct number?

Your reply is highly impertinent, unlike mine.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

34. I just made an observation that you're trying like hell to distract from the actual thread

and I said good job.

Nothing more, nothing less.
Maybe try sticking to the thread instead of trying, very poorly at that, to distract from the original topic.
Have a great Thrusday.

[Intractable]

36. Again, you are impertinent.

Have one yourself. You seem to like this war.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

39. If you think I'm impertinent, then don't read my posts or use the ignore function on DU.

Let me tell you something, you saying I must like this war is complete bullshit, I've seen war up close and personal and I hate war, so take your little snide remark and place...............oh, never mind, your definitely not worth my time.

[Intractable]

40. "never mind, your definitely not worth my time."

and we have the argument winner. He is victorious.

[AZLD4Candidate]

74. Walking away from a rabbit hole and someone using failing to see things as debunked does win an argument

especially when one side refuses to accept their information is based on a lie.

[Mysterian]

20. Zero, but what number of brazen, lying UN officials is acceptable?

The UN has a severe credibility problem.

[Intractable]

26. I see. So, dead babies are acceptable, but UN lies are not. Gotcha.

[Mysterian]

28. What part of "zero" did you not understand?

Reading comprehension issue?

[Intractable]

33. I wrote "none" also. But that was above. It's okay if you don't read everything, yes?

[Mysterian]

35. Your post does not cogently reply to mine

Please try again.

[Intractable]

38. Please read the upthread. Nothing new is happening here.

[Richard D]

22. They got their intifada globalized.

[gab13by13]

32. The UN claim was wrong, lying is wrong.

with that said, Yesterday on MSNBC, I believe, they showed videos of starving kids in Gaza. They showed several truck loads of food that were ready to deliver food but were stopped from delivering it. It is going to take a huge effort on everyone's part to keep people from starving to death in Gaza, whatever the number.

People should also be enraged about Krasnov saying that Gaza will be the Riviera of the Middle East once Gazans are moved to another country.

[AloeVera]

44. Why immediately jump to believe they were lying?

What purpose does that serve except to lead us to believe the REAL lie: Israel's claim that there is no starvation in Gaza. That is not only a lie but a genocidal, cruel and inhumane one. It contradicts indisputably the evidence of our own eyes as well as the findings and reports of the IPC, the UN and numerous other international NGOs.

Who are you gonna believe?

I believe the UN made an honest mistake. Is that so hard to fathom that they misinterpreted some data? These people want to save lives. They are not numbers folks. The starvation would have continued, they had to drive home the urgency.

Further, the mistake is not the story and nor is it actually wrong. There ARE thousands of kids in Gaza that may now be on the brink of death. See post # 41.

Those who want Israel to "win" - meaning ethnically cleanse and starve Gaza to make it happen - will jump on any "mistake" to discredit, de-legitimize and cast doubt on both the starvation and the UN. It's a well-established tactic.

Just my opinion, ymmv.

[Beastly Boy]

53. What do you call saying one thing one day

and contradicting themselves the next day?

If it's not lying, it must be covering their lying asses after being caught lying.

[AloeVera]

41. 29 kids and elderly starved to death in recent days. On top of the 57 children already starved since the siege began.

Last edited Thu May 22, 2025, 02:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Tip of the iceberg.

3,700 kids at acute levels of malnutrition last month - a doubling over February. A sharp rise like that is a telltale sign of impending famine. It is likely to be much higher now. Bakeries have been closed for well over a month and food kitchens for a few weeks. These acutely malnourished children may only have 48+ hours for all we know.

So maybe not 14,000, but isn't 3,700+++ bad enough?

It's not a numbers game, and gleeful gotcha's about the UN only serve a very nefarious agenda. These are children's lives that hang in the balance.

An urgent plea for help - from people who care about preventing children from dying agonizing deaths - is now being presented as a lie by some people, or twisted into something nefarious or "fabulist".

There is nothing "fabulist" about bringing attention to the horrific possibility that thousands of children will die if Israel continues to be allowed to enforce its medieval cold-blood murder siege.

To ignore the real story while propagandizing the UN mistake is disturbing and serves Netanyahu's agenda of ridding Palestinians from Gaza, annexing and settling very well. I'm sure no one here would want to be complicit in that.

On edit:
3700 figure is for March, not April. A near-doubling over February. The rate of increase may have been even higher over two months. But applying just the same doubling would arrive at 14,000 currently.

[Intractable]

43. "propagandizing the UN mistake is disturbing and serves Netanyahu's agenda of ridding Palestinians from Gaza"

Well said!

People here have tried to keep a very narrow focus on the UN's error, which is a distraction from the mass murder of Palestinians.

[lapucelle]

45. This thread is about a patently false claim made by a UN official.

Debunking a lie told by a spokesman of an international organization is a good thing.

[AloeVera]

48. Actually the good thing is that there may not be 14,100 children in danger of immediately dying.

Last edited Thu May 22, 2025, 12:29 PM - Edit history (1)

Did anyone notice that?

Or that there are actually thousands of children that ARE in danger of dying? Less than 14,000 - maybe only half, maybe a little less, maybe a little more - but geez, should they not matter?

Or is it just the mistake by the UN that matters?

[Beastly Boy]

63. Better, there may not be 24,200 children in danger of dying.

Make the number up as high as what makes you content.

It is only a matter of time that I will eventually be impressed by the numbers enough to notice them.

The other thing I notice is that instead of swearing by the UN numbers, you are now calling them a "mistake".

Did you make a "mistake" when you were getting outraged by their fake numbers and citing them as god's honest truth for days?

[AloeVera]

46. That it is. A well-worn tactic, as I said in post #44.

De-legitimizing the UN is a must for Israel to "win". Or what genocidaires and ethnic cleansers in Netanyahu's government consider "winning".

So sad and dismaying to see it play out here.

And yes, it is a distraction but a dangerous one. If it succeeds it bodes ill for Palestinians.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

50. The only distraction is your constant vilifying Israel when it was HAMAs that started this whole current shitshow.

If HAMAs hadn't broken the ceasefire in place and stayed on their side of the border, then we wouldn't even be talking about this, but certain people here just have to try to deflect from the current thread and try to hijack it.
Case in point, your posts here.
Do try to stay on topic, although I highly doubt you will.


Gotta go to work, have a great Thur. and a great upcoming weekend.

[AloeVera]

54. In that case you might want to remove the rec on my post.

Here I was astonished you finally came over to the side of light.

Israel under Netanyahu vilifies itself. Is condemning the actions of a villain really vilifying? Only if you're on the side of the villain.

We should all be glad there aren't as MANY kids in danger of starving, not that the UN made a mistak so that it will be easier to ignore or sweep under the carpet the fact that there are still many THOUSANDS of kids acutely malnourished and likely to die wirh the paltry aid allowed in now.

But that's just me. Your side will continue to push the narrative that helps you achieve your goals. I can only hope that in spite of that, there is some convergence from Netanyahu's goals, now made horribly explicit though long- hidden.

[Jose Garcia]

42. A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World While the Truth Is Putting On Its Shoes

[madaboutharry]

76. And that was back in the 1800's.

Now a lie can travel all the way around the world the moment someone hits send.

[republianmushroom]

49. The UN seems to have problems with numbers.

[stillcool]

51. The UN's Humanitarian Chief had the numbers right

and the time-line wrong. What a disgusting piece of crap the UN is for accurately saying 14,000 children will die, but had to go and put it into an immediate time-line. Israel, or the United States should 'take care of' the UN, the way they take care of children.

[AloeVera]

55. Killer post.

And gets to the heart of the matter.

[stillcool]

73. thanks...

[EX500rider]

77. I did not realize "malnutrition" & "dying" were the same thing

[AZLD4Candidate]

78. Whenever Israel is mentioned, causing a bad hair day could be considered a war crime to some.

To some, the only thing Israel can do right would be to completely dissolve.

[Torchlight]

59. Nuance can easily become a weapon

I observe the exploitation of subtle distinctions to dodge larger accountabilities and drive deeper wedges.

Intentions aside, that which is accurate is accurate.
If it's not accurate, it's simply inaccurate and should be dismissed.

[AloeVera]

61. There may well be 14,000 kids in danger of dying.

Or more.

In March, 3,700 kids were identified as having acute malnutrition. The increase was double over February.

At that rate of increase, there are likely to be at least 14,000 kids with either acute or severe malnutrition by now. Could be many more after an 11 week siege.

That horrifying fact is going to get lost in the UN bashing.

I guess it's more important or satisfying to try to discredit the UN than face the reality of what is happening in Gaza.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/27/gaza-on-brink-of-catastrophe-as-aid-runs-out-and-prices-soar-groups-warn

[AZLD4Candidate]

75. In that article, they claim statements from world food organizations, yet only quote people involved in the Hamas-led

Gaze government.

From the article: "Before the war, her family would eat a large meal of meat, stuffed vegetables or other traditional dishes on Fridays, Najjar said. “Now we eat peas and rice. We never ate canned peas before the war. Only in this war that has destroyed our lives.”

Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7th. That's what started this war. After the attack, people in Gaza celebrated like a major victory in war had been achieved.
Japan attacked us on Dec 7th. That's what started that war. After that attack, people in Japan celebrated like a major victory in war had been achieved.
Japan decimated Nanjing in 1937 after attacking China for no reason. After that attack, people in Japan celebrated the rape and murder of 300,000 Chinese.

At the end of WW2, the blockade in Japan had people near starvation and were down to eating grass and bark on trees. If Japan had not attacked China and the US, they would still eat large meals.

Now, if Hamas, which is the ELECTED government of Gaza, had not attacked Israel, this person would still eat their large meals and not rice and peas.

Moral of the story: Hamas and Japan caused this suffering.

BTW, I fail to feel bad for the narcissism of "we used to eat better than many other people and now we eat like poor people."

[Eko]

62. Yup the UN messed up then later

Clarified their mistake.

[Beastly Boy]

81. They messed up, then blamed Israel, created a shitstorm in the media, and only then clarified their mistake

[Eko]

82. There are mistakes and then there are mistakes.

At least they didn't kill a bunch of Ambulance drivers with their mistake.

[Beastly Boy]

83. Ah, adeflection! How ordinary!

[Eko]

84. You call it a deflection.

I call it putting things in perspective.

[Beastly Boy]

85. Sure. You also call lying a "mistake"

I am not impressed with what you call it.

[Eko]

86. Neither you nor I have any idea if it was a lie or a mistake.

I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt but it is possible he was lying. If you notice I also said that Israel killing a bunch of ambulance drivers was a mistake and not "Lying". I do my best to be fair and impartial that is why both were a mistake. Was Israel lying about the ambulance drivers or was it a mistake?

[Beastly Boy]

87. "I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt"

Pfft, some people appear to be more equal than others, right?

Orwell is spinning in his grave.