Phew, there are quite a few claims in the video linked in the Bluesky post, but I’m going to focus on the one in the caption: the “14,000 babies” story, and whether it led to direct violence.
The “14,000” figure comes from UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who in May 2025, during the final days of Israel’s 11-week blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, told the BBC that “14,000 babies would die in Gaza in the next 48 hours if aid supplies don't reach them.”
Here’s what happened around that time, according to the BBC:
"Israel's 11-week blockade of humanitarian aid entering Gaza has ended... The UN hoped 100 aid trucks would enter Gaza, but by the afternoon, no aid had been distributed as supplies hadn’t reached UN warehouses or delivery points. Trucks waited at the border for nearly eight hours. In response, Israel said 93 aid trucks had been transferred to Gaza that day."
That same day, Fletcher made the now-infamous 14,000 babies comment. However, the BBC later followed up with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), which pointed to a report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). That report projected that 14,100 children under age five would suffer from severe acute malnutrition between April 2025 and March 2026—a year-long window, not 48 hours.
So yes, the media ran with a number that was later clarified as inaccurate. That makes the first part of the post's claim true (about the media circulating an unverified story).
As for the second part, I couldn’t find any credible evidence that this reporting directly led to violent attacks on innocent people. There are no law enforcement reports, news stories, or official statements supporting that link. It’s possible the poster is speaking metaphorically (about public outrage or online backlash), but that’s not the same as documented physical violence.
Interestingly, if anything, the reporting may have contributed to international pressure that helped reopen aid access, based on the timeline.
Some other sources talking about this story:
- RNZ reporting on the UN correction
- JP reporting on Fletcher's "desperation" to get aid in
