Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Thousands of babies in Gaza may die within days unless urgent food and medical aid is delivered, the United Nations has warned, as Israel allowed a limited number of humanitarian trucks into the enclave for the first time in weeks
The UN and aid agencies say the crisis is worsened by
continued attacks on critical infrastructure. On Tuesday, Medical Aid for
Palestinians called for protection of Gaza’s healthcare system following the
bombing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which killed scores.
They said the attacks damaged essential medical supplies and
violated international law. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) reported that Israeli strikes also hit Al Awda hospital in
northern Gaza. Two clinics in Khan Younis closed, one due to a direct strike.
On Tuesday, Israeli authorities issued new evacuation orders
affecting 40 neighborhoods in Khan Younis—about 23% of Gaza’s total area. OCHA
said thousands of people and hundreds of humanitarian facilities, including
wells, pumping stations, schools, and health centers, were impacted.
The UN announced it had been granted permission to send
approximately 100 aid trucks into Gaza following an 11-week blockade. However,
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called the situation “catastrophic,” warning
that 14,000 babies could die within 48 hours if they do not receive immediate
nutrition and care
Only five trucks entered on Monday. Fletcher said the
current aid was "a drop in the ocean."
“This is not
food that Hamas is going to steal,” he told the BBC. “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 option than getting baby food in to the
mothers, who at the moment cannot feed their own children.”
Before the war, Gaza received an average of 500 aid trucks
per day. That changed after Hamas launched a deadly assault on Israel on
October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. In
response, Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza, halting all goods, including
humanitarian aid. Since then, only a fraction of pre-war aid levels has
entered.
The humanitarian crisis deepened on Tuesday as Gaza’s Health
Ministry reported at least 38 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes within
30 minutes.
On the same day aid resumed, the UK, France, and Canada
issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian
access as “wholly inadequate.” They called for an end to the military campaign
and warned of “further concrete actions” if Israel fails to comply.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by
accusing Western leaders of rewarding “the genocidal attack on Israel” and
vowed to continue military operations until “total victory is achieved.
Later that day, the UK announced it was suspending trade
negotiations with Israel and had summoned the Israeli ambassador. UK Foreign
Secretary David Lammy urged Netanyahu to end the blockade and offensive. “The
world is judging. History will judge them,” he said in the House of Commons
Earlier this month, Israel announced a formal expansion of
its operations in Gaza, stating its aim to occupy the entire territory.
Airstrikes intensified following former U.S. President Donald Trump’s tour of
the Middle East over the weekend
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 300 Palestinians killed by
airstrikes in the 72 hours before Monday, May 19. The total death toll since
the war began has surpassed 53,000
In Deir al-Balah, Oday Basheer operates one of only three
community kitchens still running in the area. “Starving people is the most
vicious weapon they are using on us,” he told Time. “You can’t function if you
are hungry all the time. Everyone is fighting for food.
Basheer, who lost several relatives and friends in recent
airstrikes, described constant fear: “You can’t be sure your house won’t be
destroyed. I keep looking at the sky at the drones. One button, and you’re
gone. Just a number.”
His kitchen, once producing six pots of food daily, now makes 15—each
feeding about 250 people. But soaring costs are making the work harder. Since
March 18, flour prices have risen 5,000%, and cooking oil by 1,200%. “100
trucks won’t be enough. I don’t think our kitchen will get anything from these
trucks,” he said.
Since Israel ended the ceasefire in mid-March, more than 500,000 people
have been newly displaced across Gaza, according to the UN.
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