‘Death of a generation': Gaza infants battle starvation under deepening Israeli siege

Middle East Eye

06-05-2025

Suwar Ashour weighed just 2.4kg at birth five months ago. Since then, she has gained less than half a kilogram.
"She used to vomit heavily from both breast milk and formula," said her mother, Najwa Aram, as she leaned over the crib where the tiny infant lay.
Aram told Middle East Eye she had stayed in the hospital with her baby for 10 days.
Aram herself is malnourished and has struggled to breastfeed.
"Suwar was born during the hardship of war," she said.
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"While I was pregnant, there was no nutrition - no meat, no eggs, no dairy. There was nothing."
Food shortages have been widespread in Gaza due to an Israeli siege since the war began in October 2023. The blockade has brought widespread malnutrition in its wake.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when some aid entered Gaza as part of the January ceasefire, the family managed to obtain a formula that Suwar could tolerate.
'While I was pregnant, there was no nutrition - no meat, no eggs, no dairy. There was nothing'
- Najwa Aram, new mother
For the first time, she began to gain weight, eventually reaching 4kg.
But as the Muslim world prepared to celebrate Eid al-Fitr - the festival marking the end of the fasting month - Israel resumed the bombing and imposed a total blockade.
Suwar's condition began to deteriorate again.
The newborn showed signs of dehydration.
Her mother rushed her to hospital, where they have remained since 8 April.
Though her condition initially improved, by the third day she had developed intestinal flu, further exacerbated by the lack of formula, pushing her deeper into malnutrition.
"Our financial situation is dire," said the anxious mother.
Her husband was blinded by Israeli forces during the 2018 Great March of Return protests, and their home was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, leaving them displaced.
Najwa Aram leans over the crib where her five month-old Suwar Ashour, who weighs less than three kilograms, is laying down as she is fed formula (MEE/Ahmed Aziz)
Aram, like many Palestinians in Gaza, has been displaced multiple times during the devastating war. She now lives in a tent.
Her only wish is for her child's survival and recovery.
"God willing, they open the crossings and provide the formula she needs... I hope she gets better, returns to how she was and even stronger," she said.
Ahmed al-Fara, director of the paediatric department at Nasser Hospital, where Suwar is receiving treatment, told MEE that nothing has entered the besieged enclave in the past two months.
'We're talking about 2.3 million people trapped in what has become a giant prison. Gaza is completely cut off from land, sea, and air,' he said.
According to al-Fara, Gaza has been stripped of all viable food sources. Bakeries have shut down, prices in the private markets have soared due to dwindling supplies, and aid warehouses run by international organisations are now empty.
Catastrophic food insecurity
According to Fara, Gaza's population is now facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, classified as Phase Five on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which ranges from one (minimal) to five (catastrophe/famine).
'If the crossings remain closed and there is no international pressure on Israel to lift the siege, we are looking at the mass death of most children, women, and the elderly in Gaza - alongside much of the wider population,' he warned.
The IPC is widely used by NGOs, charities, and aid agencies to assess food security and nutritional crises. Gaza, he noted, is now firmly in the worst category.
'We are witnessing the systematic targeting of an entire generation of children'
- Ahmed al-Fara, Palestinian pediatrician
Women and children are among the most vulnerable, he added. Pregnant women lack access to regular medical care and suffer from severe nutritional deficiencies due to the lack of food and essential vitamins.
'A pregnant woman has no access to proper nutrition, no safety, and lives in constant fear,' he explained.
'As a result, many give birth prematurely, or deliver underweight babies.'
In both scenarios, these children face long-term consequences ranging from low birth weight and susceptibility to infection, to weakened immune systems.
During early development, a child's nervous system is especially sensitive to malnutrition. Under such conditions, Fara warns, children may suffer from poor concentration, communication difficulties, and may even develop learning disabilities.
'We are witnessing the systematic targeting of an entire generation of children,' he concludes.
Speaking about Ashour, Dr Fara said she is one of many children suffering from malnutrition and remains in a critical condition.
He added that the number of such cases is rising rapidly. Each day, the hospital is overwhelmed with new emergency admissions linked to malnutrition.
'We are now witnessing an unprecedented number of malnutrition cases, figures we could never have imagined before,' he said.
According to Munir al-Barsh, director-general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 91 percent of the population is now facing a food crisis amid the ongoing Israeli assault.
'Gaza is living through a horrific humanitarian catastrophe - one defined by hunger, poverty, and disease - driven by genocide and a suffocating Israeli siege, which includes the closure of crossings and the systematic denial of humanitarian aid,' Barsh said.
He noted that 92 percent of children and breastfeeding mothers are experiencing severe malnutrition, 'posing a direct threat to their lives and development'.
Since Israel broke the ceasefire six weeks ago, its military has killed more than 2,326 Palestinians, bringing the total number of deaths to at least 52,000 since October 2023, including over 15,000 children.