The UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator has been criticised for claiming that “14,000 babies will die in the next 48 hours in Gaza”, after it became clear that the figure cited stemmed from a report estimating the number of young children who risk suffering acute malnutrition over the course of the next year without proper food aid.
Tom Fletcher, who leads the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated on the BBC’s “Today” programme that “there are 14,000 babies who will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them”. When the diplomat, who previously served as the UK Ambassador to Lebanon, was queried on the basis for that claim, he responded that the UN had “strong teams on the ground” providing information.
The claim was widely reported by international media publications, and was repeatedly cited by MPs in a House of Commons debate on Tuesday.
However, when the BBC approached the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the office responded by referring to a report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). That report states that without access to food, approximately 14,100 cases of severe malnutrition are expected to occur among young children in Gaza over the course of the next year, rather than deaths within 48 hours.
Avi Mayer, former Editor of the Jerusalem Post, described the claim by Fletcher as “a total fiction”.
“There is a real humanitarian need in Gaza that needs to be addressed”, he posted on social media. And also, the ’14,000 babies’ claim cited by UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher was completely made up. Is there any accountability for this stuff? Why do UN officials get a pass for lying?”
Eylon Levy, the former spokesperson for the State of Israel, posted that Fletcher “should hand in his resignation immediately for causing a global media panic about something totally made up. He is either a complete numpty or malicious. Either way, serving Hamas’ war goals.”
Last week Mr Fletcher had become the first high-ranking UN official to use the word “genocide” in connection with Gaza, calling on members of the UN Security Council “to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law”. Israel strongly denies the accusation of genocide, while the UN’s official policy is that such a determination can only be made by the proper international court.
OCHA has been contacted for comment.
