KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip: Hisham al-Lahham is one of 580 premature babies in Gaza who may die from hunger, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. His mother, Seham Fawzy Khodeir, and many others blame Israel's blockade for this crisis.
Though a small amount of baby formula has arrived, doctors say it's not nearly enough. Their fears continue to grow, even as attention shifts away from Gaza because of the Israel-Iran conflict.
Khodeir watches helplessly as her newborn son lies inside an old incubator, crying softly. Hisham breathes with the help of machines and is fed through a tiny tube in his nose. The special formula he needs is running out fast. "There is no milk," said the 24-year-old mother. "He needs it to live."
Dr. Ahmed al-Farah, head of the children's department at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, says these babies are running out of time. He calls it "an avoidable disaster." His hospital has 10 babies in incubators, but last week, their formula ran out completely.
A U.S. aid group, Rahma Worldwide, sent 20 boxes of formula—enough for just two weeks. Al-Farah is grateful but worried, as there is no promise of more supplies. "This is only a short-term fix," he said. "What we need is a real solution: end the blockade."
In Gaza City, Al-Rantisi Hospital has already run out of formula, said its director, Dr. Jamil Suliman. He added that many mothers cannot breastfeed because they are too malnourished. "We are facing a serious crisis," he said.
Israel started a complete blockade of Gaza on March 2, stopping all food, water, medicine, and fuel from entering. Under pressure from the United Nations and other countries, Israel began allowing limited aid on May 19. Since then, over 1,000 tons of baby food has entered, said Israel's aid agency COGAT.
COGAT claims it approves all baby food requests and does not block them. But Gaza's health officials say what's coming in is not enough, especially not the formula, medicine, and equipment that hospitals urgently need.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported that many types of baby formula are entirely out of stock in Gaza. The little that remains is sold at very high prices that most families cannot afford.
International groups mostly give out the aid. Palestinian health workers say Israeli troops have fired warning shots at people trying to reach some distribution points.
Israel says the blockade is meant to pressure Hamas into releasing 50 hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attack. Fewer than half of them are thought to be alive. Israel also claims Hamas steals aid, but the UN says it has found no proof.
More than 56,000 Palestinians have died in the war, and over 131,000 are injured, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Over half of the dead are women and children. The war has led to severe shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel. Seventeen out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are still working, but just barely.
Doctors warn that starvation and preventable deaths will continue unless the blockade ends and fuel, food, and medicine can enter freely.
