The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, has been speaking to the BBC’s Radio 4’s Today’s programme about the dismal amount of aid Israel is letting into Gaza.
International pressure over a looming famine forced Benjamin Netanyahu to announce on Sunday night that he would ease the devastating 11-week aid blockade to prevent a “starvation crisis” in Gaza – but only to a minimum level.
Fletcher said five trucks of aid went into Gaza yesterday, but described this as a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for the population’s needs.
He said the aid lorries, which contain baby food and nutrition, are technically in Gaza but have not reached civilians as they are just on the other side of the border.
Tom Fletcher has said the trickle of aid being allowed into Gaza is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed. Photograph: Richard Drew/AP
Fletcher said 14,000 babies could die in 48 hours if aid doesn’t reach them in time.
“I want to save as many as these 14,000 babies as we can in the next 48 hours,” he told the BBC.
Asked how the UN arrived at this figure, he responded: “We have strong teams on the ground – and of course many of them have been killed… we he still have lots of people on the ground – they’re at the medical centres, they’re at the schools…trying to assess needs.”
A little boy is fed with food from a community kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
