Mothers and doctors in Gaza say formula shortages risk babies' lives, blaming Israel's aid blockade
The mother of six was increasingly concerned about the survival of Hisham al-Lahham, who was just days old, breathing with the help of equipment and being fed through a tube in his tiny nose.
Most alarming is that the medical-grade formula he needs to survive is running out.
'There is no milk,' the 24-year-old mother told The Associated Press. He needs it to "to get better, to live, and to see life'.
Hisham is among 580 premature babies at risk of death from starvation across the war-battered Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Khodeir and others blame Israel's blockade for the plight of their children.
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Doctors say that although some formula has been delivered, the situation is dire.
'These babies have no time… and no voice,' said Dr Ahmed al-Farah, head of the pediatrics and obstetrics department at Nasser Hospital, the main medical facility still partially functional in southern Gaza.
Khodeir's son is one of 10 babies in incubators at Nasser's neonatal intensive care unit. Last week, al-Farah rang the alarm, saying the hospital's stock of medical-grade formula was 'completely depleted'.
He said the tiny babies who relied on it would face 'an avoidable disaster' in two to three days.
His pleas were answered, in part, by the delivery of 20 boxes of formula sent over the weekend by a US aid group, Rahma Worldwide. The new delivery is enough to cover the needs for the 10 infants for up to two weeks, al-Farah said.
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Al-Farah, however, expressed concern about future deliveries, saying that it wasn't guaranteed that more formula would be allowed into Gaza.
'This is not enough at all,' he said. 'It solved the problem temporarily, but what we need is a permanent solution: Lift the siege'.
Meanwhile, the fortified formula required for newborns is already out of stock at Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City, its director, Dr Jamil Suliman, said.
'Many mothers are unable to breastfeed due to severe malnutrition,' he said, warning of a looming crisis.
Infants are among the hardest hit by Israel's blockade, which started on March 2 with the complete ban of any food, water, shelter, or medication.
Under mounting international pressure and repeated warnings of famine from the United Nations, Israel began allowing what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called 'minimal' aid, starting May 19.
Since then, more than 1,000 tonnes of baby food, including formula, have entered Gaza, according to COGAT, the Israeli defense agency in charge of aid coordination in the Palestinian territory.
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'Food for babies is certainly entering [the Gaza Strip], as the organisations are requesting it we are approving it, and there is no withholding of food for babies,' a COGAT spokesperson said.
But Gaza's health officials say that for these babies, that aid hasn't included enough critical medicine, formula, medical equipment, and spare parts to keep the existing equipment operational.
Israel has said the blockade aims to pressure Hamas into releasing the 50 hostages it still holds from its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked the war. Fewer than half are still believed to be alive.
Israel has accused Hamas of siphoning aid, without providing evidence. The United Nations says there's been no significant diversion of aid.
Militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage on Oct. 7. Most of the hostages have been released by ceasefire agreements.
The war has unleashed unrelenting destruction, with more than 56,000 Palestinians killed and more than 131,00 wounded in Israel's offensive, according to Gaza health officials. The officials don't distinguish between combatants and civilians but say more than half the casualties are women and children.
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The war and the blockade have sparked a humanitarian crisis, creating shortages of the most basic necessities and pushing Gaza's health care system to the brink of collapse.
Seventeen of the enclave's 36 hospitals remain partially functioning, providing health care to more than 2 million people amid bombings, rising malnutrition rates and dwindling medical supplies.
"Starvation is increasing," said Jonathan Whittall, head of the U.N.'s humanitarian affairs office for the occupied Palestinian territories. More than 110 children have been admitted for treatment for malnutrition every day since the start of this year, he said.
Human Rights Watch said in a recent report that all medical facilities in Gaza are operating in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions and have serious shortages of essential health care goods, including medicine and vaccines.
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The Health Ministry has repeatedly warned that medical supplies and fuel were running out at hospitals, which use fuel-powered generators amid crippling power outages.
Calling for a lift on the blockade, Whittall said hospitals were forced to ration the little fuel they have 'to prevent a complete shutdown of more life-saving services'.
Nasser Hospital was forced to cut off electricity for some departments, despite the nonstop flow of patients, as part of a plan to save fuel, said Ismail Abu-Nimer, head of engineering and maintenance.
Supplies have been running out amid the influx of wounded people, many coming from areas close to aid distribution centers, said Dr Mohammad Saqer, Nasser's director of nursing.
'The situation here is terrifying, immoral, and inhumane,' he said.
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