Israel’s ongoing blockade has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, with famine conditions claiming the lives of infants and threatening thousands more.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 59,733 Palestinians have been killed and 144,477 wounded in the war, with malnutrition exacerbating the toll.
In the past 24 hours alone, five people, including two babies, died of starvation, according to Al-Shifa Hospital.
A seven-day-old infant, Hood Arafat, died from a lack of milk, as reported by al-Ahli Arab Hospital.
Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children’s hospital at Nasser Medical Complex, warned that children are the most vulnerable to these shortages.
He stated that without immediate aid access, mass deaths are imminent.
Gaza’s medical system has collapsed under the weight of Israel’s restrictions on aid.
Doctors, themselves malnourished, report dizziness, headaches, and fainting while treating starved and wounded patients.
Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, noted that hospitals lack medical supplies and nutritional resources, leaving doctors helpless.
Parents are seen weeping at hospital entrances as staff are forced to turn away patients they cannot treat.
Palestinian doctors have issued desperate calls for international intervention to allow supplies and medicine into Gaza, as the blockade prevents care for the severely wounded and chronically ill.
Gaza’s Government Media Office warns of an “unprecedented and imminent humanitarian disaster” caused by Israel’s closure of border crossings.
Approximately 100,000 children under two, including 40,000 babies, face death due to a lack of baby formula and nutritional supplements.
The office condemned Israel’s “starvation and extermination policy,” noting that mothers are resorting to breastfeeding with water due to the absence of milk.
UNRWA has called for an immediate ceasefire, stating that no one in Gaza — neither aid workers, medical staff, nor UN personnel — is safe from Israel’s unrelenting attacks and forced displacements.
The crisis deepens as Israel’s military corridors, like the Morag Corridor, isolate areas like Rafah and Khan Younis, hindering recovery efforts for victims of attacks.