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.”
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.
