The United Nations has issued a correction regarding a widely circulated claim that 14,000 babies in Gaza faced death within 48 hours, clarifying that this figure actually represents potential deaths from malnutrition over the course of a full year.

The erroneous statement, which first aired on BBC Radio 4's Today programme and subsequently spread across national media outlets and even reached parliamentary discussions, was later identified by the Jewish Chronicle as a misinterpretation of a humanitarian assessment projecting malnutrition cases in children aged six months to five years throughout a 12-month timeframe.

Tom Fletcher, the UN's humanitarian chief, originally stated on BBC Radio 4's Today program "There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them." Fletcher mentioned the presence of "strong teams on the ground" working in medical facilities and schools, though the Jewish Chronicle reports he provided no additional specifics about these operations.

The Jewish Chronicle reported Fletcher characterized the arrival of trucks this week as "a drop in the ocean," adding that the humanitarian supplies had not yet reached civilians in need. However, upon examination of the actual Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Partnership report, the Jewish Chronicle found that the 14,000 figure referred to children at risk of "severe malnutrition" by March 2025, not by the end of this week as initially suggested.

Later that same day, the Jewish Chronicle noted that BBC News published a correction to Fletcher's assertion, buried within an article discussing how Gaza aid was failing to reach the population. A separate UN representative also declined to repeat the original claim and offered a correction during a press briefing, according to the Jewish Chronicle.

When asked for clarification, the Jewish Chronicle reports that Fletcher's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) provided this statement: "We are pointing to the imperative of getting supplies in to save an estimated 14,000 babies suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Gaza. We need to get the supplies in as soon as possible, ideally within the next 48 hours." The Jewish Chronicle points out that the IPC report distinguishes between severe and acute malnutrition, with the 14,000 figure specifically referring to the former category.

By the time this correction emerged, the Jewish Chronicle found that the inaccurate claim had already spread extensively through UK and global media channels and was cited as factual by nine Members of Parliament during a House of Commons debate the previous day.

This correction comes amid intensifying international pressure on Israel to increase humanitarian aid flow into Gaza as Israeli military operations against Hamas escalate, alongside widespread warnings about hunger conditions in the region, the Jewish Chronicle reports.

The Jewish Chronicle reveals that the United Kingdom announced Monday it would suspend trade negotiations with Israel over what it termed "morally unjustifiable" escalation in Gaza. Foreign Secretary David Lammy described Israel's actions as "monstrous" and stated: "We have suspended negotiations with this Israeli government on a new free trade agreement."

Lammy further explained that the UK is reviewing its cooperation with the Israeli administration, saying, "The Netanyahu government's actions have made this necessary," according to reporting by the Jewish Chronicle.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told Parliament that the "horrific situation in Gaza" is "utterly intolerable," adding, "We cannot allow the people of Gaza to starve," the Jewish Chronicle reports. The government also summoned Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely to the Foreign Office.

The Jewish Chronicle notes that the European Union is taking similar measures, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announcing a review of an EU-Israel trade agreement in response to the situation in Gaza. Kallas told reporters, "The aid that Israel has allowed in is of course welcomed, but it's a drop in the ocean. Aid must flow immediately without obstruction and at scale."

According to the Jewish Chronicle, approximately 93 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies – including flour, baby food, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs – were permitted to enter Gaza on Tuesday.

Israeli officials have denied allegations of food shortages in Gaza and insisted that instances of starvation result from Hamas withholding supplies from civilian populations, not from Israeli actions.

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In a stunning medical rarity, quadruplets were delivered Sunday at Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel. The 35-year-old mother, already a parent to two children, conceived naturally with minimal medical intervention, defying odds of one in 720,000.

The newborns – two boys and two girls – entered the world with weights ranging from 2.95 to 3.57 pounds. Medical staff promptly transferred all four infants to the neonatal intensive care unit for close monitoring and specialized care.

Quadruplet births are exceedingly uncommon, occurring in roughly one out of every 720,000 deliveries. In Israel, where annual births hover around 180,000, statisticians would predict a natural quadruplet birth only once every three to four years.

Advanced reproductive technologies have slightly increased these odds, with Israel now averaging one to two sets of quadruplets annually. To put this in perspective, twins appear in about 5% of births, while triplets occur in just 0.1%. The extreme scarcity of quadruplet births turns each occurrence into a headline-grabbing event, captivating both medical professionals and the public alike.

Prior to this birth, Israel's most recent quadruplets were welcomed in 2022 at Sheba Medical Center.

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Diana Almarbua, a 21-year-old Israeli gave birth to a quadruplet this week in Israel, marking a rare occurrence in Israel and around the world.

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The successful delivery of the four babies – 3 boys and a girl – took place at the Sheba Medical Center's Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital. Spontaneous conception of quadruplets is not common, estimated at only 1 pregnancy out every 700,000. Thus, most cases are due to in vitro fertilization and other fertility-enhancing techniques. 

"We experienced a miracle," Diana said following the ordeal. Her husband, 25-year-old Nadav, agreed. "They were born in the 32nd week of the pregnancy, and weigh between 2 and 3 pounds; they are in stable condition, and they being treated and connected to ventilators at the premature baby ward," the mother said. 

She said that she was surprised to learn that she had quadruplets halfway through the pregnancy, but this feeling was quickly replaced by a feeling of being "blessed." She said that upon giving birth this week, "I heard them crying I cried with them, and then I realized that it's all worth it, it's a feeling that no words can describe."

Dr. Chava Rosen, from Sheba's Department of Neonatology, told Israel Hayom that the delivery was handled by a 10-member team at the neonatal intensive care unit and that "within one hour all four were in an incubator." 

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Since the start of the COVID pandemic in early 2020, the prevailing belief has been that children are less likely to contract the virus, and if they do, rarely suffer serious cases of COVID-19. However, as of Friday, four infants and toddlers were hospitalized in a newly-opened intensive care unit for children at Hadassah Ein Karem Medical Center.

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Three of the children, who ranged in age from 13 days to two years old, were listed in serious condition as of Friday.

The medical center reported that two of the infants suffered from "serious, chronic" pre-existing conditions.

"One of the children, age two, is in serious condition. The second, age six weeks, is in serious condition. The third, 13 days old, is in serious condition but stabilized, and the fourth age nine months, who doesn't have any preexisting conditions, is in serious condition," the medical center reported on Friday.

Director of Hadassah Pediatric Intensive Care, Dr. Uri Polk, explained that the special COVID unit – the first of its kind in Israel – had been established to care for "children and infants with COVID who need ventilators or intensive care by staff whose expertise is in putting children in a medically induced coma and caring for them in an intensive care setting."

According to Polk, three of the patients on the new unit were in medically-induced comas and on ventilators due to serious lung conditions.

"Their condition is extremely serious," Polk stressed.

Head nurse on the new unit Sonya Sharabi said, "These are babies whose parents, or other relatives, are also sick. The parents can come here a they'd like to be here 24/7, but they're torn between caring for the other children at home and staying on the unit with the babies Some of them are constantly running back and forth between the hospital and home."

"As staff members, we realize their immense difficulty. The babies need to be hugged, touched, and when there's no parent by their side it's very hard to think about what they're going through. We all try to help with everything, and of course there are staff members inside for hours at a time to watch over them closely," Sharabi said.

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The CBS reported that in 2018, 1,289 Israeli baby girls were given the first name Tamar, while 1,447 baby boys were named David.

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After David, the most popular names for Jewish boys in Israel in 2018 were Ariel, Noam, Lavie, Yosef, Uri, Eitan, Daniel, Yehuda, and Moshe. The most popular names for girls, after Tamar, were Maya, Avigayil (Abigail), Noa, Ayala, Yael, Sarah, Adelle, Shira, and Romi.

For years, Noa was the most popular name for Jewish girls. In 2008-9, 3.5% of Jewish girls were given the first name Noa, compared to the 1.9% of baby girls in 2018 who were named Noa.

The first name Maya was especially popular in the cities Kiryat Ono, east of Tel Aviv, and Kiryat Motzkin, near Haifa, where 6% of baby girls born in 2018 were named Maya.

The Jewish boy's name Aharon, while not among the 10 most popular nationwide, was highly popular in the haredi communities of Bnei Brak and Modi'in Illit, as well as in Givat Zeev.

The single most popular boy's name for the entire population of Israel was Mohammed, although the name has been declining in popularity, and each year fewer Muslim families name newborn baby boys Mohammed.

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