By Sama Marwan,
Doctors in Gaza have warned that hundreds of infants are at risk of dying amid severe shortages of baby formula, as Israel continues to restrict the humanitarian aid allowed into the besieged enclave.
The Guardian reported that Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, head of the pediatrics department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said his department has only enough baby formula to last about one more week. The hospital has already run out of specialized formula for premature babies and is now forced to use regular baby formula, dividing it equally among the infants under their care.
“I can’t describe how bad things are,” Al-Farra told The Guardian by phone. “We have enough baby formula for about a week. But there are also babies outside the hospital who have no way to access formula at all. It’s a disaster.”
The newspaper noted that stocks of baby formula in Gaza have dwindled drastically, as Israel has blocked nearly all aid from entering the territory, allowing in only very limited supplies. According to doctors, food aid coming through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—a private company reportedly supported by the U.S. and Israel—does not include baby formula.
Hanaa Al-Taweel, a 27-year-old mother of five living in the Nuseirat refugee camp, said she has been unable to breastfeed her baby because she herself does not get enough food. She has struggled to obtain formula for her 13-month-old child.
“The problem with getting formula started when my son was born,” she said. “I couldn’t breastfeed him because of my malnutrition and general weakness.” Doctors have told her that her son suffers from stunted growth due to malnutrition, and she has noticed that he is developing more slowly than her other children, who at his age had already started talking and walking.
“I try to keep a small piece of bread by my side when he’s asleep because he wakes up constantly asking for food,” she said. “I feel sadness and fear for my children. I’m afraid they’ll die from hunger, thirst, or disease.”
The Guardian reported that 66 Palestinian children have died of hunger since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023, according to local health authorities. Amnesty International has accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza, describing it as a tactic aimed at “committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”
