Seven-day-old infant dies of malnutrition in Gaza
A seven-day-old baby has become the latest victim to die of malnutrition in Gaza, a source at the al-Ahli Hospital has told Al Jazeera. The child died from a lack of milk, said the source at the hospital in Gaza City.
Earlier, we reported that another infant, Zainab Abu Halib, had died of malnutrition amid critical food shortages in Gaza. More than 120 people have died of malnutrition in the territory since the war began, and more than 80 of the victims were children or babies.
Gaza government warns thousands of infants at imminent risk of death without baby formula
Gaza’s Government Media Office has strongly warned of an “unprecedented and imminent humanitarian disaster” being committed by Israel, saying 100,000 children aged two years and under, including 40,000 babies, are at risk of death within days.
This is due to a “complete lack of baby milk and nutritional supplements, and the continued closure of crossings and prevention of the entry of the simplest basic supplies”, it said in a statement.
“We are facing an expected and deliberate mass killing slowly being committed against infants whose mothers have been breastfeeding them water instead of baby milk for days, as a result of the starvation and extermination policy pursued by the ‘Israeli’ occupation.”
Children cannot survive long in famine conditions, Gaza hospital chief warns
A hospital director in Gaza has warned that children are the group “most vulnerable” to the famine conditions gripping the territory amid reports that two babies have been the latest to die of malnutrition.
Dr Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children’s hospital at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, told Al Jazeera that children cannot survive long without food.
He warned that children face the greatest risk from the critical food shortages afflicting Gaza caused by the Israeli blockade. He said there would be mass deaths if border crossings are not immediately opened to allow aid to flow in.
One, Hood Arafat, was born just a week ago in Gaza City and died as a result of malnutrition due to a lack of milk, a source at al-Ahli Arab Hospital told Al Jazeera. Earlier on Saturday, staff at the Nasser Medical Complex reported that a six-month-old, Zainab Ahmed Abu Haleeb, had also died of malnutrition.
Five people die of starvation in Gaza in past 24 hours
Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip says five people in Gaza have died due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours.
