UN says 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours under Israeli aid blockade
Australia, UK, France and Canada warn Israel of action if ‘egregious’ conduct in Gaza continues.
– Jem Bartholomew – The Guardian – 20 May 2025
This speaks for itself, even in the number were half of that. What makes this tragedy as bad is Ukraine Russia is that it has killed more or as many proportionally. Israel and Palestine together have 15 million people. Russia and Ukraine have 185 million twelve times the number as in the European war. (11 times the population). 62,000 Palestinians have been killed, fewer than 3000. Russia and Ukraine each have more than 200,000 war dead and another 700,000 injured. The Ukrainbs have uo to 1,000,000 war dead.
A boy in Gaza is fed with food from a community kitchen at the Muwasi camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis on 18 May. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
Good morning.
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC this morning that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in 48 hours if aid did not reach them in time. Five aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday but Fletcher described this as a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for the population’s needs.
It followed the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying yesterday that 2 million people were starving in the Gaza Strip while “tonnes of food is blocked at the border” by Israel.
The leaders of the UK, France and Canada yesterday condemned Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza and warned of joint action if Israel continued. Meanwhile, Palestinians began fleeing Khan Younis as Israel ordered people to “evacuate immediately” before an “unprecedented attack” that the military says is targeting Hamas infrastructure.
Israel targets Nasser hospital as Netanyahu vows to take control of all of Gaza – video
What else is the UN saying about Israel’s aid blockade, in place since 2 March? A UN-backed report recently estimated that one in five people in the territory were facing starvation. The UN posted a statement on Monday reading: “Everyone in Gaza is hungry. Without immediate action, nearly a quarter of the population could be pushed into famine. Food aid must be allowed into Gaza now to prevent a catastrophe.”
Here’s what the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said: Israel decided on Sunday to resume the entry of a “basic quantity” of food, after coming under increasing international pressure. But yesterday Netanyahu hit back at the UK, France and Canada for condemning Israel, calling on them to follow Donald Trump’s example.
What’s the latest with Israel’s ongoing military bombardment? Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israel had killed at least 44 people in Gaza today. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces bombed a pharmaceutical laboratory. Hundreds of people have been killed in the past week, many of them women and children, as Israel’s attacks have intensified.
Trump and Putin hold two-hour phone call but Kremlin refuses Ukraine ceasefire
Beyond Trump’s optimistic rhetoric, no breakthrough appears in sight. Composite: EPA
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump held a rare two-hour phone call yesterday, but the Russian leader declined to support a US-proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire, to which Ukraine had already agreed.
Putin also suggested his country’s maximalist objectives in the war with Ukraine were unchanged. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, insisted Ukraine was ready for a full ceasefire and direct negotiations with Moscow, but said: “If the Russians are not ready to stop the killings, there must be stronger sanctions.”
How did Trump try to spin the call? He posted optimistically on Truth Social: “The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent … Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.”
But … Trump later suggested the US could abandon its involvement, telling reporters that if there was no progress, “I’m just going to back away”.
Make no mistake. This is one of the atrocities of our time as Americans look the other way. Yes Israel was viciously attacked on October 7, 1923. But the response against Gaza (almost 50,000 confirmed civilian deaths) is frightfully disproportionate to the attacks). Most Palestinians (including the 10,000 + children killed) did not even know about the Hamas invasion of Israel at that time. Both the Biden and Trump administrations sent aid to Israel while this was going on. The Israelis do not need money for American weapons. The Palestinians in Gaza do need food, water and medical help.
By Eyad Kourdi, Ibrahim Dahman, Mohammad al-Sawalhi and Sophie Tanno, CNN
4 minute read
Updated 11:52 AM EDT, Sun March 30, 2025
Victims of an Israeli strike on the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis Sunday are laid to rest. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty ImagesCNN —
Israeli airstrikes on a tent and a home housing displaced people in southern Gaza killed 10 people Sunday, including children, as Palestinians observed the first day of Eid-al-Fitr, rescuers said.
The Israeli military is stepping up its renewed campaign in Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying efforts to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages were “working” and vowing to implement Donald Trump’s hugely controversial scheme to relocate Palestinians from the territory.
Twenty people were also injured in the strike on the Al-Mawasi area, Khan Younis’s Director of Civil Defense Yamen Abu Suleiman told CNN, warning the death toll would likely rise.
A local hospital confirmed the fatalities so far, saying five children had been killed.
Video of the aftermath of the strike shows some of the child victims wearing new Eid clothing. In Middle Eastern tradition, children wear new clothes to celebrate the three-day holiday.
In the footage, a manis seen dragging a child toward the hospital, asking: “What was these children’s fault? They did nothing.”
CNN has approached the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are observing Eid this year in the face of dwindling aid supplies and a mounting death toll in the strip.
“Every year, I’m used to baking Eid cookies for my children,” one displaced woman, Ameneh Shaqla, told CNN. “But because of the current situation and how expensive everything has become, I was only able to prepare one kilogram — just to bring them some joy so they don’t stay sad because of the war.”
Abdel Fattah Khalil Karnawi, a street vendor, told of the soaring prices for clothing. “We came to the market to get Eid clothes for the children. Unfortunately, the circumstances are tough and prices are very high.”
Bodies of Palestinians are brought to the Nasser Hospital by their relatives in Khan Younis Sunday. Hani Alshaer/Anadolu via Getty Images
Israel resumed its offensive on Gaza almost two weeks ago, shattering a two-month-old ceasefire. It imposed a complete blockade of humanitarian aid entering the enclave, warning that its forces would maintain a permanent presence in parts of Gaza until the release of the remaining 24 hostages who are believed to still be alive. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since then.
Al-Mawasi, a coastal region west of the city of Rafah, has repeatedly come under Israeli attacks, even though it was previously designated by Israel as a “humanitarian area.” Thousands of Palestinians have fled to Al-Mawasi, living for months in makeshift tents made of cloth and nylon, with little access to humanitarian relief.
In comments made on Sunday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to step up the military campaign, saying the pressure on Hamas was “working.”
“It works because it operates simultaneously: on one hand, it crushes Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities and, on the other, it creates the conditions for the release of our hostages. This is exactly what we are doing,” Netanyahu said at a government meeting.
Rejecting assertions Israel was unwilling to negotiate, he added that “cracks”were showing in Hamas following the renewal of the offensive and said Israel would implement “the Trump Plan — the voluntary emigration plan,” a scheme Trump himself appears to have walked back on.
New ceasefire proposal
Sunday’s strike comes as Hamas has agreed to a new Egyptian proposal to release five hostages, including the American-Israeli Edan Alexander, in exchange for a renewed ceasefire, a Hamas source told CNN.
The proposal is similar to one presented several weeks ago by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, although it is not clear whether it also includes the release of additional bodies of deceased hostages.
In exchange for the release of five hostages, Hamas expects a return to phase 1 ceasefire conditions, including the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well as an agreement from Israel to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire, the source said.
Israel has responded to the Egyptian offer with a counter-proposal, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducted a series of consultations yesterday, following a proposal received from the mediators. In recent hours, Israel transferred its counter-proposal to the mediators, in full coordination with the United States,” the office said.
Netanyahu is facing competing demands at home from his right-wing coalition who want to increase pressure on Hamas and families of the remaining hostages who fear more military action could endanger their loved ones.
This story has been updated.
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond and Tamar Michaelis contributed reporting.
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