GAZA CITY — Doctors in Gaza are sounding the alarm over a growing crisis threatening hundreds of babies, reported the Guardian. The strip is running out of infant formula as Israel continues to restrict aid access.
Dr. Ahmad al-Farra, head of paediatrics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said he only has enough baby formula to last one week. He has already run out of special formula for premature babies. Now, he is forced to ration standard formula among several infants.
“I can’t begin to describe how bad things are,” al-Farra told The Guardian. “We have babies outside the hospital who have no milk at all. It’s catastrophic.”
The shortage is worsening as Israel allows only a fraction of the needed aid into Gaza. The infamous Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), founded by Israel and the US, does not distribute baby formula, according to local doctors.
Hanaa al-Taweel, a 27-year-old mother of five in al-Nuseirat camp, said she stopped breastfeeding due to malnutrition. She cannot find formula for her 13-month-old baby.
“My baby wakes up crying for food. I keep a piece of bread by his side at night. I fear my children will die from hunger,” she said.
Doctors diagnosed her baby with stunting due to severe malnutrition. “He’s not walking or speaking like my other children did,” she added.
Nourhan Barakat, another mother displaced to Khan Younis, had to stop breastfeeding after one month. “I know breastfeeding builds the bond with my child. But what can I do if I have no food?”
At least 66 Palestinian children have already died from hunger since the genocide began in October 2023.
The World Health Organization says about 112 children are being admitted daily for malnutrition treatment. Doctors fear permanent developmental damage among babies under three.
“This generation is being targeted,” said Dr. al-Farra. “Even if nutrition returns later, the damage is permanent.”
Dr. Thaer Ahmad, part of an international medical team, warned: “When babies begin to die, that’s the final alarm. Children die first in starvation crises.”
Some doctors smuggle formula cans in their luggage. Israeli authorities recently confiscated 10 cans of preemie formula from an American doctor’s bag.
Dr. Diana Nazzal, a Palestinian-German surgeon, said, “What is baby formula going to do to Israel’s security? We’re being blocked from feeding babies.”
Medical teams now bring food instead of medicine, filling bags with protein bars and nuts. Formula on the black market sells for $50 per can; 10 times the normal price.
The Israeli genocide in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians since October 7. Israel has rejected every ceasefire proposal that would have ended the genocide.
Meanwhile, doctors in Gaza say time is running out. “Children arrive looking like skeletons,” said al-Farra. “It’s horrifying. The only real solution is to end the war, open the crossings, and let baby formula in.”
C. QNN
