A watchdog group condemned the United Nations and multiple media outlets for promoting the claim that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die within 48 hours unless they received humanitarian aid, a figure that various news agencies now report is a misrepresentation of the data.
HonestReporting, a nonprofit that monitors inaccuracies and bias in the media’s reporting on Israel, accused The New York Times, The Guardian, ABC News, TIME Magazine, The Independent and NBC News of helping to amplify the disproven claim.
The Christian Post reached out to each of the outlets for comment, but only NBC News responded. The outlet directed CP to a May 21 X post explaining that it updated its original report to say 14,000 “face severe malnutrition if a lot more aid trucks don’t reach the Palestinian enclave soon.”
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“Instead of questioning the outrageous and inconceivable claim, major outlets blasted the lie across headlines and newsfeeds, even after it was disproven,” the watchdog group declared in a Friday Instagram post.
“Less than 48 hours after the UN’s claim, a gunman waited outside a Jewish event at a Jewish museum and murdered Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. In the name of ‘freeing Palestine,'” the group’s statement continued.
“Because irresponsible reporting and disinformation campaigns fuel real-world antisemitic violence.”
The U.N.’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, made the claim on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, saying: “There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them.”
When pressed about how he arrived at this conclusion, Fletcher said there were “strong teams on the ground” operating in medical centers and schools, but he did not provide further details. The figure was then repeated across the national media and by several members of Parliament in the Commons during a debate last Tuesday.
After seeking clarification from the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the BBC reported last Wednesday that the office said the number came from a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
The report warned that 14,100 children aged six months to five years in Gaza could experience acute malnutrition between April 2025 and March 2026. According to the report, this could take place over the course of a year, not 48 hours.
CP contacted the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for comment but did not receive an immediate response before publication.
The controversy over the data related to children in Gaza reached a boiling point last week when British Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended free trade negotiations with Israel over what he called “morally unjustifiable” military actions in Gaza.
Lammy described Israel’s conduct as “monstrous,” claiming that the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have made it necessary to review the United Kingdom’s cooperation with the administration.
On Monday, hundreds of lawyers, legal academics and former judges signed a letter demanding that the U.K. government impose a series of sanctions on Israel. In the letter, the legal professionals accused Israel of committing “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
The letter also claimed that “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide occurring.” In addition to ensuring an “unconditional and permanent ceasefire,” the legal professionals called on “to impose financial and immigration sanctions” against Israeli cabinet ministers and “other civil and military personnel reasonably suspected of involvement in unlawful conduct.”
Jonathan Turner, CEO of the UK Lawyers for Israel, responded to the letter, as The Times of Israel reported Tuesday. Turner asserted that the legal professionals made “serious factual and legal errors” when they accused Israel of genocide last year.
He also noted that “sufficient quantities of food supplies were transferred into the Gaza Strip to last for several months” during the January to March ceasefire. The UK Lawyers for Israel CEO stated, “There has been no famine or mass starvation in the Gaza Strip,” asserting that reports claiming famine was occurring or imminent were “riddled with errors.”
In February 2025, UKLFI Charitable Trust published a review of reports of famine in Gaza, stating that many such reports tend to rely on incomplete or inaccurate data, and most don’t contain revised projections in light of new data.
“These errors have led to an exaggerated portrayal of the food security situation in Gaza, which has been used to influence international opinion and policy,” the analysis states.
“While the humanitarian situation in Gaza requires aid and attention, the evidence does not support claims of famine or emergency as defined by international standards. Future assessments should strive for greater accuracy and objectivity to ensure that international responses are proportionate and based on factual realities.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
