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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.”
