Doctors in Gaza have sounded the alarm over a severe shortage of infant formula, warning that hundreds of babies could soon die if emergency aid is not allowed into the territory.   At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Dr Ahmad al-Farra, head of pediatrics, said his neonatal ward is on the verge of running out of formula. Supplies for premature babies are already exhausted, and the hospital is now rationing regular formula among all infants. “We have enough for about one more week,” al-Farra told The Guardian . “But there are also countless babies outside hospitals with no milk at all. It’s

Doctors in Gaza have sounded the alarm over a severe shortage of infant formula, warning that hundreds of babies could soon die if emergency aid is not allowed into the territory.

  At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Dr Ahmad al-Farra, head of pediatrics, said his neonatal ward is on the verge of running out of formula. Supplies for premature babies are already exhausted, and the hospital is now rationing regular formula among all infants. “We have enough for about one more week,” al-Farra told

The Guardian

. “But there are also countless babies outside hospitals with no milk at all. It’s catastrophic.” The warning comes amid growing international scrutiny of Israel’s continued restrictions on humanitarian aid entering Gaza. While some aid has made it through, doctors say shipments organized by the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) do not include baby formula. The crisis is being felt acutely by mothers like 27-year-old Hanaa al-Taweel, displaced and living in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp. Due to severe malnutrition, she is unable to breastfeed her 13-month-old son. “From the day he was born, I couldn’t feed him properly,” she said. “Now he wakes up crying for food, and I have nothing to give him but a small piece of bread.”

A woman feeds her child a formula of anise, due to lack of baby formula, in a tent at a camp in Khan Yunis.
Photograph: Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images
Source: Thee Guardian

Doctors have diagnosed her child with stunted growth caused by chronic malnutrition. “He’s not developing like my other kids; not walking, not talking. It’s terrifying.” Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 66 children have already died of starvation since the war began in October 2023. Amnesty International has accused Israel of using starvation as a method of warfare; a violation of international law that the organization says may amount to genocide. The Israeli agency COGAT, which oversees aid coordination in Gaza, denies the claims and insists that baby food is not restricted. It states that over 1,400 tons of infant formula have entered Gaza in recent weeks. In contrast, medical professionals working on the ground dispute those figures. Some doctors entering Gaza on humanitarian missions have begun carrying formula in their luggage, only to have it confiscated.

Amnesty International has accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza.
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Source: The Guardian

On one occasion, 10 cans of preterm baby formula were seized from an American doctor by Israeli authorities at the border. Dr Diana Nazzal, a Palestinian-German surgeon assisting the mission, questioned the rationale. “What possible threat does baby formula pose to Israel’s security?” she asked. With medical aid blocked or reduced, many humanitarian workers are now packing high-calorie foods like nuts and protein bars in their bags instead of medicine or equipment. As hunger worsens, infant formula has become scarce and prohibitively expensive on the black market with cans reportedly selling for $50, nearly 10 times the normal price. “I could breastfeed for just one month,” said Nourhan Barakat, a 25-year-old mother of three in Khan Younis. “After that, I was too hungry. I know how important breastfeeding is, but I had no choice.” The World Health Organization estimates that 112 children are admitted daily for treatment of severe malnutrition in Gaza. Doctors warn that early malnutrition can cause irreversible physical and cognitive damage. “This whole generation is being decimated,” said Dr al-Farra. “Even if aid arrives later, it may be too late. The damage is already permanent.” Young children are often the first casualties in famine conditions. “When babies begin to die, that’s when you know starvation is here,” said Dr Thaer Ahmad, part of an international delegation attempting to bring medical relief to Gaza through the advocacy group Avaaz. The worsening crisis has been widely blamed on the Israeli blockade of aid, with only a fraction of the necessary relief allowed into the territory. UN agencies estimate Gaza needs 500 aid trucks daily to meet basic needs but frequently fewer than 50 are allowed through. Aid trucks that do enter often face chaos, looting, and deadly violence. More than 500 people have reportedly been shot by Israeli forces in the past month while waiting in line for food, according to humanitarian monitors.

The Guardian contributed to this article.

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