Over 100,000 children in Gaza at risk of death due to Israeli blockade
Zainab Abu Haleeb, who died from malnutrition, is one of at least five Palestinians to have succumbed to starvation in the past 24 hours, as Israel's siege continues to strangle the Gaza Strip.
The distraught mother told Middle East Eye that she had been pleading for months to be evacuated from Gaza and had already prepared the necessary documents.
'No one is listening to our pleas,' she said. 'The girl suffered a lot during her sickness.'
She said that malnutrition, the lack of infant formula and the closure of crossings into Gaza had all worked against her daughter's survival and the well-being of Gaza's population as a whole.
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'I'm now waiting for her body to be released from the morgue,' she said. 'I've been in the hospital for three months, and this is what I get in return. In return, my daughter is dead.'
Zainab was born healthy, with no illness or deformity; her only need was a steady supply of infant formula.
'If the crossings were open, the girl would have been out by now,' her mother said, tears welling in her eyes. 'I wouldn't be standing in front of the morgue, waiting for my daughter.'
'Imminent death of children'
The infant's family struggled to access proper care and nutrition amid the ongoing Israeli blockade, which has stopped the entry of essential food supplies, nutritional supplements and medical aid.
The widespread famine has also left many mothers, including Zainab's, malnourished and unable to breastfeed their children.
'Catastrophic': Infants in Gaza battle to stay alive amid formula shortage Read More »
'I got pregnant with her during the starvation, I gave birth to her during the starvation, I don't think I've eaten an egg in nine months. What more can I say?' the mother shared.
For weeks, doctors and health specialists in the besieged enclave have warned of a "catastrophic" situation in the Gaza Strip if formula and other vital supplies are not urgently delivered to Gaza.
On Saturday, Gaza's government media office issued a stark warning: over 100,000 children under the age of two, including 40,000 infants, are facing "imminent death within days" if infant formula is not immediately delivered.
"We are facing a deliberate and foreseeable mass killing being perpetrated slowly against infants whose mothers have been feeding them water instead of infant formula for days, a direct consequence of the starvation and extermination policies enforced by the Israeli occupation,' the statement added.
More than 100 humanitarian organisations warned on Wednesday that "mass famine" has been spreading across the Gaza Strip since Israel blocked humanitarian aid from entering in early March and began providing inadequate aid through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Fund at the end of May.
The Israeli and US-backed initiative has allowed an insufficient amount of relief supplies, while carrying out attacks against civilians seeking aid at the GHF sites.
At least 127 Palestinians, including more than 85 children, have died of starvation since Israel's blockade resumed in March, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
More than 1,121 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid at distribution sites operated by the GHF, manned by Israeli soldiers and US security contractors.
'No one answered our calls'
The father of Abed al-Salaam Abu Mohsen faced a similar fate over the past day, as he mourned his child who died of starvation.
He was seen being comforted by his toddler daughter, as he wept over his son's remains.
Abed al-Salaam had been admitted to the hospital 70 days earlier. Doctors diagnosed him with an enlarged liver - a condition that could have been treated if he had been transferred out of Gaza for medical care.
'We have been pleading with everyone for 70 days to leave Gaza,' his father sobbed. 'We contacted the World Health Organization, but there was no answer. This is how our children die.'
Abd al-Salaam Abu Mohsen's father is seen mourning his son while his daughter comforts him on 26 July 2025 (MEE/Ahmed Aziz)
Doctors informed the family that they lacked the resources and capacity to treat Abed al-Salaam's condition.
'Truly, we felt the doctors had nothing they could do,' his father said. 'Our only hope was to leave Gaza for treatment, but we couldn't.'
The blockade made it impossible for the family to leave despite having prepared all the documents for medical transfer.
The father went on to issue a heartfelt plea: 'Our message to the world is to see the entire Palestinian population, not just the children. Today, everyone in Gaza is suffering. We, the people of Gaza, are all enduring starvation and death.
'What is happening to us is starvation, a shortage of medicine, and a lack of treatment options.'
Zainab's mother voiced similar frustration and despair over the international silence regarding her daughter's deteriorating condition.
'I'm sure all the media saw her, the whole world saw her, but no one answered our calls,' she said.
'My message to the world, which didn't hear us in the beginning and won't hear us now: you didn't listen when she was alive, so why would you listen now that she's gone? There's no use for you, especially the Arab nations.
'I swear to God, westerners called and offered support. But you Arabs, you were useless.'
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