Doctors in Gaza have warned that hundreds of babies are in life-threatening danger due to a severe shortage of infant formula, as Israel continues to restrict humanitarian aid entering the besieged enclave.
Dr Ahmad al-Farra, head of pediatrics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said his hospital has supplies of infant formula for approximately one more week. The specialized formula for premature babies has already run out, so the doctor has to use regular formula and divide it among the babies he cares for.
Supplies of infant formula in Gaza are rapidly depleting as Israel has blocked all but minimal aid from entering the Palestinian territory. Food arriving through the controversial private company Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by the United States (U.S.) and Israel, according to doctors, does not include infant formula.
How does milk threaten the security of the State of Israel?
According to local health authorities, since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, 66 Palestinian children have died from hunger.
Amnesty International accuses Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza, stating that it is a tactic intended “to carry out genocide against Palestinians.”
Cogat, the Israeli agency responsible for coordinating humanitarian aid for Gaza, claims it does not restrict the entry of baby food, including formula. They state that over the past few weeks, more than 1.400 tons of baby food have been delivered to Gaza.
Doctors entering Gaza are forced to pack individual cans of infant formula in their personal luggage. At least once, Israeli authorities confiscated 10 cans of formula for premature babies from the luggage of a U.S. doctor coming on a medical mission.
“In the end, they confiscated all the cans of baby formula, especially for premature babies. How does that milk threaten the security of the State of Israel?” asked Dr Diana Nazzal, a Palestinian-German ophthalmologist who helped the U.S. doctor pack suitcases in a way that would be acceptable to Israeli border guards.
Time is running out
United Nations (UN) aid that enters is often seized by starving crowds and armed gangs desperately looting the trucks.
If Palestinians want access to aid distributed by GHF, they must go through complicated and constantly changing instructions to queue at one of four distribution points. More than 500 people have been killed by Israeli forces while standing in line for aid in just the past month.
Meanwhile, doctors in Gaza warn that time is running out. “You should see those children arriving. Only skin and bones. It’s horrific. The real solution is to stop the war, open the crossings, and allow infant formula to enter,” said al-Farra, N1 writes.
