12 hours ago
Two Gaza infants die under Israeli siege amid baby formula shortage
Two infants have died in Gaza under Israeli siege due to malnutrition and a lack of essential medical and nutritional supplies compounded by the shortage of baby formula.
On Thursday, the two infants were announced dead at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, where lead doctors have been making demands to key figures, organisations and authorities to let in essential types of baby formula and other medical necessities to ensure the wellbeing of mothers and their children.
Mohammad al-Hams, father of 10-day-old Kinda al-Hams, told Middle East Eye that his daughter was admitted into an incubator soon after her caesarean birth.
Not more than two weeks later, she died from a lack of medicine and nutrition, especially baby formula.
"If there were treatments and medication available, our daughter would be with us right now, and we would've been joyful… but God is sufficient,' the father said tearfully.
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He indicated that there was a severe shortage of all medical and nutritional essentials.
"These are the sacrifices of the war. These are the achievements [Benjamin] Netanyahu is presenting to his nation.
'The world is watching us, the Arab and Islamic world. They are watching our children die'
- Mohammad al-Hams
"The world is watching us, the Arab and Islamic world. They are watching our children die. They are happy while we sit here and cry, every day we are doing funeral prayers… God is sufficient."
For nearly two years, alongside the relentless bombardments and deliberate targeting of hospitals, the Israeli military has been repeatedly accused by UN experts of using starvation as a weapon of war.
The crisis peaked in March, with dozens of children dying of malnutrition and residents forced to eat grass.
Under mounting international pressure, Israel "slightly" improved food access in some areas after its forces killed several foreign aid workers and a UN-backed report warned famine was imminent.
But now, Israeli authorities are once again restricting life-saving food deliveries.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), the number of malnourished children is increasing "at an alarming rate," with 5,119 children between the ages of six months and five years old admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in just the month of May.
Medical catastrophe
Mahmoud Shoraab, uncle of five-month-old Nidal Shoraab, expressed anger that they have been calling for formula to be allowed into the besieged enclave for over a week, but "no one is trying to hear us out".
"These children are innocent, God is sufficient over those who oppress children, may God take vengeance on them."
Beside him, the mother and father of Nidal sobbed uncontrollably as they held the small body of their baby, saying that they would have given him the world if they could.
Shoraab's nephew, who previously had no medical issues, also idied due to severe malnutrition.
'Catastrophic': Infants in Gaza battle to stay alive amid formula shortage Read More »
He noted that another two children in the area were in critical condition as a result of the same ailment that has struck much of the blockaded strip's infants and children.
"Save us, people of the world, save us, allow God to have mercy on you," he shouted.
Over the past few weeks, medical personnel and health bodies in the Gaza Strip have been warning of a looming medical catastrophe.
Dr Yasser Abu Ghalee, head of the children's section at Nasser Hospital, previously told MEE that most premature babies were in need of immediate attention after birth.
"Most of the premature babies are brought to the incubator section [of the hospital], and we are trying as much as possible for these children because they are patients in the hospital," he added.
Abu Ghalee explained that formula supplies are nearly depleted for babies placed in intensive care, and that there is none available for those not being directly treated.
According to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, the few remaining operational health facilities in the besieged enclave are under severe threat due to a lack of medical supplies, continued forced expulsion orders and ongoing shelling.
Moreover, the ministry indicated on Wednesday that 47 percent of the essential medicines list is at zero stock, while 65 percent of medical supplies are at zero stock.
