‘They're skin and bones': doctors in Gaza warn babies at risk of death from lack of formula
Dr Ahmad al-Farra, the head of paediatrics at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, said his ward had only about a week's worth of infant formula remaining. The doctor has already run out of specialised formula meant for premature babies and is forced to use regular formula, rationing it between the infants under his care.
'I can't begin to describe how bad things are. Right now, we have enough formula for about one week. But we also have infants outside the hospital without any access to milk. It's catastrophic,' al-Farra told the Guardian over the phone.
Stocks of infant formula have dwindled in Gaza as Israel has blocked all but a trickle of aid into the Palestinian territory. Food aid that comes through the controversial US-Israeli-backed private company Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) does not include infant formula, according to doctors.
Hanaa al-Taweel, a 27-year-old mother of five living at al-Nuseirat refugee camp, said she was unable to breastfeed as she herself was not getting enough to eat. She has struggled to find infant formula for her 13-month-old child.
'The problem of getting milk started since my son's birth, as due to my malnutrition and general weakness I wasn't able to breastfeed my baby,' al-Taweel said.
Doctors have told her that her son is suffering from stunting due to malnutrition and she has noticed he was developing slower than her other children, who had already begun speaking and walking at his age.
'I try to keep a small piece of bread next to me when he sleeps because he wakes up often asking for food. I feel sadness and fear for my children, I fear they will die from hunger, thirst and disease,' she said.
Already 66 Palestinian children have starved to death since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, according to local health authorities.
Amnesty International accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza, which it said was a tactic intended 'to inflict genocide against Palestinians'.
Cogat, the Israeli authority responsible for coordinating humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, said it does not restrict the entry of baby food, including formula, into the Gaza Strip. The agency added that more than 1,400 tons of baby food had been delivered to Gaza in recent weeks.
Doctors entering Gaza have resorted to packing individual cans of infant formula in their personal luggage. On at least one occasion, Israeli authorities confiscated 10 cans of infant formula from the luggage of an American doctor recently entering Gaza for a medical mission.
'In the end they confiscated all the cans of baby formula, which was specifically formula for pre-term babies. What on earth is baby formula going to do against the security of the state of Israel?' said Dr Diana Nazzal, a Palestinian-German eye surgeon who helped the American doctor pack his bags in a way that would be acceptable to Israeli border authorities.
Nazzal added that many medical staff entering Gaza are filling their bags with calorie-dense foods such as protein bars and nuts, rather than medical supplies.
Infant formula has become more critical as the hunger crisis has worsened in Gaza, with almost 500,000 people facing catastrophic hunger while the rest of the population is experiencing acute food insecurity.
Mothers who are severely malnourished themselves or have been killed are unable to breastfeed, creating a higher need for formula. On the parallel market, what little supply exists has become exorbitantly expensive, with one can of formula going for about $50 – 10 times the normal price.
'I was able to breastfeed her naturally for one month, but due to lack of food I could no longer continue,' said Nourhan Barakat, a 25-year-old mother of three displaced to Khan Younis. 'I know that breastfeeding strengthens the bond between mother and child – but what can I do?'
In late June, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said about 112 children were being admitted daily to Gaza's hospitals for malnutrition treatment. Malnutrition before the age of three can cause permanent developmental problems.
'This whole generation is being targeted. They will suffer from memory problems, developmental delays … And the problem is even if nutrition becomes available later on, the damage is permanent,' al-Faraa said.
Doctors said the deaths of infants was a worrying sign of Gaza's looming starvation crisis, as young children are the most vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition.
'When you see babies start to die, panic and alarms should start to flare. Essentially, children are the first to die in starvation crises,' said Dr Thaer Ahmad, a member of a medical delegation trying to deliver aid through the international group Avaaz.
Doctors have blamed the Israeli aid blockade for the shortage, as Israel prevents all but a few aid trucks entering the territory – far below what humanitarians say is required to feed the population. UN agencies say Gaza needs at least 500 trucks a day to meet basic needs, but often less than 50 are admitted.
What UN aid does come through is often confiscated by hungry crowds and armed gangs who have begun looting trucks out of desperation.
If Palestinians want to access aid given by GHF, they have to navigate a complicated, ever-changing set of instructions to queue at one of four distribution sites. More than 500 people have been shot dead by Israeli forces while queueing for aid over the last month.
Humanitarian groups have condemned the GHF, saying it could be complicit in war crimes and that it violates the core principles of humanitarianism. Previously, the UN-led aid system in Gaza maintained more than 400 aid distribution points throughout Gaza set up at points of need. The GHF said it had delivered more than 52m meals in five weeks and that other organisations 'stand by helplessly as their aid is looted'.
Israel has said the UN system was being exploited by Hamas to hoard aid, an accusation for which humanitarians say there is no evidence.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 56,000 people since 7 October 2023, and was launched in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on the same day that killed 1,200 people in Israel. Israel and Hamas have signalled in recent days that they are nearing a US-brokered ceasefire, though key sticking points remain.
In the meantime, doctors in the territory say time is running out. 'You should see the children arriving,' said al-Farra. 'They're just skin and bones. It's horrifying. The real solution is to end the war, open the crossings and allow baby formula in.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
A boy in Gaza with brain damage fights for his life amid blockade
It's as if the whole weight of Israel's war in Gaza has fallen on Amr al-Hams. The 3-year-old has shrapnel in his brain from an Israeli strike on his family's tent. His pregnant mother was killed. His father is paralyzed by grief over the death of his longtime sweetheart. Now the boy is lying in a hospital bed, unable to speak, unable to move, losing weight, while doctors don't have the supplies to treat his brain damage or help in his rehabilitation after a weekslong blockade and constant bombardment. Recently out of intensive care, Amr's frail body twists in visible pain. His wide eyes dart around the room. His aunt is convinced he's looking for his mother. He can't speak, but she believes he is trying to say 'mom.' 'I am trying as much as I can. It is difficult,' said his aunt Nour al-Hams, his main caregiver, sitting next to him on the bed in Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. 'What he is living through is not easy.' To reassure him, his aunt sometimes says his mother will be back soon. Other times, she tries to distract him, handing him a small ball. The war has decimated the health system The war began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians. Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, it is nearly impossible for the critically wounded to get the care they need, doctors and aid workers say. The health care sector has been decimated: Nearly half of the territory's 36 hospitals have been put out of service. Daily bombings and strikes overwhelm the remaining facilities, which are operating only partially. They struggle with shortages of anything from fuel, gauze and sutures to respirators or scanners that have broken down and can't be replaced. Israeli forces have raided and besieged medical facilities, claiming Hamas militants have used them as command centers. Doctors have been killed or were displaced, unable to reach hospitals because of continued military operations. For more than 2 1/2 months, Israel blocked all food, medicine and other supplies from entering Gaza, accusing Hamas of siphoning off aid to fund its military activities, though the U.N. said there was no systematic diversion. The population was pushed toward famine. Since mid-May, Israel has allowed in a trickle of aid, including medical supplies. Gaza's Health Ministry estimates that 33,000 children have been injured during the war, including 5,000 requiring long-term rehabilitation and critical care. Over 1,000 children, like Amr, are suffering from brain or spinal injuries or amputated limbs. 'Gaza will be dealing with future generations of kids living with all sorts of disabilities, not just brain, but limb disabilities that are consequences of amputation that could have been prevented if the health system was not under the pressures it is under, wasn't systematically targeted and destroyed as it was,' said Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care specialist who has volunteered multiple times in Gaza with international medical organizations. A fateful journey north In April, one week before her due date, Amr's mother, Inas, persuaded her husband to visit her parents in northern Gaza. They trekked from the tent they lived in on Gaza's southern coast to the tent where her parents live. They were having an evening meal when the strike hit. Amr's mother and her unborn baby, his grandfather and his brother and sister were killed. Amr was rushed to the ICU at Indonesian Hospital, the largest in northern Gaza. A scan confirmed shrapnel in his brain and reduced brain function. A breathing tube was inserted into his throat. 'He is 3. Why should he bear the weight of a rocket?" his aunt asked. His father, Mohammed, was too stunned to even visit the ICU. His wife had been the love of his life since childhood, the aunt said. He barely spoke. Doctors said Amr needed advanced rehabilitation. But while he was at the hospital, Israeli forces attacked the facility — encircling its premises and causing damage to its communication towers, water supplies and one of its wards. Evacuation orders were issued for the area, and patients were transferred to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Another treacherous journey But Shifa was overwhelmed with mass casualties, and staff asked the family to take Amr south, even though no ambulances or oxygen tanks could be spared. The father and aunt had to take Amr, fresh out of ICU with the tube in his throat, in a motorized rickshaw for the 25-kilometer (15-mile) drive to Nasser Hospital. Amr was in pain, his oxygen levels dropped. He was in and out of consciousness. 'We were reading the Quran all along the road,' said his aunt, praying they would survive the bombings and Amr the bumpy trip without medical care. About halfway, an ambulance arrived. Amr made it to Nasser Hospital with oxygen blood levels so low he was again admitted to ICU. Unable to get the care he needs Still, Nasser Hospital could not provide Amr with everything he needed. Intravenous nutrients are not available, Nasser's head of pediatrics, Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, said. The fortified milk Amr needed disappeared from the market and the hospital after weeks of Israel's blockade. He has lost about half his weight. When he came out of the ICU, Nour shared his bed with him at night and administered his medication. She grinds rice or lentils into a paste to feed him through a syringe connected to his stomach. 'We have starvation in Gaza. There is nothing to eat,' said his aunt, who is a trained nurse. 'There is nothing left.' The care Amr has missed is likely to have long-term effects. Immediate care for brain injuries is critical, Haj-Hassan said, as is follow-up physical and speech therapy. Since the Israeli blockade on Gaza began in March, 317 patients, including 216 children, have left the territory for medical treatment alongside nearly 500 of their companions, according to the World Health Organization. Over 10,000 people, including 2,500 children, await evacuation. Amr is one of them. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of civilian affairs in Gaza, coordinates medical evacuations after receiving requests from countries that will take the patients and security screenings. In recent weeks, over 2,000 patients and their companions have left for treatment, COGAT said, without specifying the time period. Tess Ingram, spokesperson for the U.N. children's agency, said the only hope for many critically injured who remain in Gaza is to get out. Countries need to 'open their hearts, open their doors and open their hospitals to children who survived the unimaginable and are now languishing in pain," she said. Amr's aunt reads his every move. He is unhappy with his diapers, she said. He outgrew them long ago. He was a smart kid, now he cries 'feeling sorry for himself,' said Nour. He gets seizures and needs tranquilizers to sleep. 'His brain is still developing. What can they do for him? Will he be able to walk again?" Nour asked. 'So long as he is in Gaza, there is no recovery for him.'
The Independent
19 hours ago
- The Independent
Israeli airstrikes kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, another 10 people die seeking food
Israeli airstrikes killed 14 people in the Gaza Strip, while another 10 Palestinians were killed separately as they sought food in the embattled enclave, hospital officials in Gaza told The Associated Press on Saturday. Two American aid workers with the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) were also injured in southern Gaza in an attack at a food distribution site which the organization claimed was carried out by Hamas, without providing further evidence. The latest bloodshed comes as U.S.-led ceasefire efforts aimed at halting a nearly 21-month war appear to be gaining momentum. Hamas gave a 'positive' response late Friday to the latest U.S. proposal for a 60-day truce but said further talks were needed on implementation. Hamas has been seeking guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. President Donald Trump has been pushing for an agreement and is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next week to discuss a deal. Palestinians killed in southern Gaza The Israeli airstrikes struck tents in the Muwasi area on the southern end of Gaza's Mediterranean coast, killing seven people, including a Palestinian doctor and his three children, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Four others were killed in the town of Bani Suheila in southern Gaza, and three people were killed in three different strikes in Khan Younis. The Israeli army did not provide immediate comment on the strikes. Separately, eight Palestinians were killed near a GHF aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah, the hospital said. One Palestinian was also killed near another GHF point in Rafah. It was not clear how far away the Palestinians were from the sites. GHF denied the killings happened near their sites. Previously the organization has said no one has been shot at its sites, which are guarded by private contractors but can only be accessed by passing Israeli military positions hundreds of meters away. The army had no immediate comment, but has said it fires warning shots as a crowd-control measure and it only aims at people when its troops are threatened. One Palestinian was also killed waiting in crowds for aid trucks in eastern Khan Younis, officials at Nasser Hospital said. The United Nations and other international organizations bring in their own supplies of aid. It was unclear to which organization the aid trucks the Palestinians were waiting for belonged to, but the incident did not appear to be connected to GHF operations. Crowds of Palestinians often wait for trucks and unload or loot their contents before they reach their destinations. These trucks must pass through areas under Israeli military control. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident. American aid workers wounded The GHF said the two American aid workers were injured on Saturday morning when assailants threw grenades at a distribution site in Khan Younis. It blamed Hamas for the attack but gave no further evidence. The foundation later posted a photo of the fragments of the explosive device and claimed, without providing evidence, that it was detonated by Hamas militants. It said the injuries were not life-threatening, and the two men received medical attention. The GHF — a U.S.- and Israeli-backed initiative meant to bypass the U.N. — distributes aid from four sites that are surrounded by Israeli troops, three of which are in the far south of Gaza. The U.N. and other humanitarian groups have rejected the GHF system, saying it allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and it's not effective. Israel says Hamas has been siphoning off aid delivered by the U.N. — a claim the U.N. denies. Hamas has urged Palestinians not to cooperate with the GHF. GHF, which is registered in Delaware, began distributing food in May to Palestinians, who say Israeli troops open fire almost every day toward crowds on roads heading to the distribution points, through Israeli military zones. Several hundred people have been killed and hundreds more wounded, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and witnesses. The war in Gaza was set off after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2 million people and left many on the edge of famine. The ministry is led by medical professionals employed by Gaza's Hamas government. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but its figures are seen by the U.N. and other international organizations as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
‘They're skin and bones': doctors in Gaza warn babies at risk of death from lack of formula
Doctors in Gaza have warned that hundreds of babies are at risk of death amid a critical shortage of baby milk, as Israel continues to restrict the humanitarian aid that can enter the beleaguered strip. Dr Ahmad al-Farra, the head of paediatrics at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, said his ward had only about a week's worth of infant formula remaining. The doctor has already run out of specialised formula meant for premature babies and is forced to use regular formula, rationing it between the infants under his care. 'I can't begin to describe how bad things are. Right now, we have enough formula for about one week. But we also have infants outside the hospital without any access to milk. It's catastrophic,' al-Farra told the Guardian over the phone. Stocks of infant formula have dwindled in Gaza as Israel has blocked all but a trickle of aid into the Palestinian territory. Food aid that comes through the controversial US-Israeli-backed private company Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) does not include infant formula, according to doctors. Hanaa al-Taweel, a 27-year-old mother of five living at al-Nuseirat refugee camp, said she was unable to breastfeed as she herself was not getting enough to eat. She has struggled to find infant formula for her 13-month-old child. 'The problem of getting milk started since my son's birth, as due to my malnutrition and general weakness I wasn't able to breastfeed my baby,' al-Taweel said. Doctors have told her that her son is suffering from stunting due to malnutrition and she has noticed he was developing slower than her other children, who had already begun speaking and walking at his age. 'I try to keep a small piece of bread next to me when he sleeps because he wakes up often asking for food. I feel sadness and fear for my children, I fear they will die from hunger, thirst and disease,' she said. Already 66 Palestinian children have starved to death since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, according to local health authorities. Amnesty International accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza, which it said was a tactic intended 'to inflict genocide against Palestinians'. Cogat, the Israeli authority responsible for coordinating humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, said it does not restrict the entry of baby food, including formula, into the Gaza Strip. The agency added that more than 1,400 tons of baby food had been delivered to Gaza in recent weeks. Doctors entering Gaza have resorted to packing individual cans of infant formula in their personal luggage. On at least one occasion, Israeli authorities confiscated 10 cans of infant formula from the luggage of an American doctor recently entering Gaza for a medical mission. 'In the end they confiscated all the cans of baby formula, which was specifically formula for pre-term babies. What on earth is baby formula going to do against the security of the state of Israel?' said Dr Diana Nazzal, a Palestinian-German eye surgeon who helped the American doctor pack his bags in a way that would be acceptable to Israeli border authorities. Nazzal added that many medical staff entering Gaza are filling their bags with calorie-dense foods such as protein bars and nuts, rather than medical supplies. Infant formula has become more critical as the hunger crisis has worsened in Gaza, with almost 500,000 people facing catastrophic hunger while the rest of the population is experiencing acute food insecurity. Mothers who are severely malnourished themselves or have been killed are unable to breastfeed, creating a higher need for formula. On the parallel market, what little supply exists has become exorbitantly expensive, with one can of formula going for about $50 – 10 times the normal price. 'I was able to breastfeed her naturally for one month, but due to lack of food I could no longer continue,' said Nourhan Barakat, a 25-year-old mother of three displaced to Khan Younis. 'I know that breastfeeding strengthens the bond between mother and child – but what can I do?' In late June, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said about 112 children were being admitted daily to Gaza's hospitals for malnutrition treatment. Malnutrition before the age of three can cause permanent developmental problems. 'This whole generation is being targeted. They will suffer from memory problems, developmental delays … And the problem is even if nutrition becomes available later on, the damage is permanent,' al-Faraa said. Doctors said the deaths of infants was a worrying sign of Gaza's looming starvation crisis, as young children are the most vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition. 'When you see babies start to die, panic and alarms should start to flare. Essentially, children are the first to die in starvation crises,' said Dr Thaer Ahmad, a member of a medical delegation trying to deliver aid through the international group Avaaz. Doctors have blamed the Israeli aid blockade for the shortage, as Israel prevents all but a few aid trucks entering the territory – far below what humanitarians say is required to feed the population. UN agencies say Gaza needs at least 500 trucks a day to meet basic needs, but often less than 50 are admitted. What UN aid does come through is often confiscated by hungry crowds and armed gangs who have begun looting trucks out of desperation. If Palestinians want to access aid given by GHF, they have to navigate a complicated, ever-changing set of instructions to queue at one of four distribution sites. More than 500 people have been shot dead by Israeli forces while queueing for aid over the last month. Humanitarian groups have condemned the GHF, saying it could be complicit in war crimes and that it violates the core principles of humanitarianism. Previously, the UN-led aid system in Gaza maintained more than 400 aid distribution points throughout Gaza set up at points of need. The GHF said it had delivered more than 52m meals in five weeks and that other organisations 'stand by helplessly as their aid is looted'. Israel has said the UN system was being exploited by Hamas to hoard aid, an accusation for which humanitarians say there is no evidence. The war in Gaza has killed more than 56,000 people since 7 October 2023, and was launched in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on the same day that killed 1,200 people in Israel. Israel and Hamas have signalled in recent days that they are nearing a US-brokered ceasefire, though key sticking points remain. In the meantime, doctors in the territory say time is running out. 'You should see the children arriving,' said al-Farra. 'They're just skin and bones. It's horrifying. The real solution is to end the war, open the crossings and allow baby formula in.'
