Two Infants Die in Gaza from Starvation Amid Israel’s Ongoing Siege

Watan-Two infants died in Gaza on Thursday due to severe malnutrition and the shortage of baby formula, a result of the ongoing Israeli blockade and the genocide that has persisted for over eight months.

According to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), the families of the two children held their funerals at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, after both babies died from a lack of basic medical care and nutrition.

Medical sources had already warned last week of an imminent health catastrophe threatening infants’ lives, due to the depletion of baby formula and the continuation of war that has decimated Gaza’s healthcare system.

Mahmoud Sharab, the uncle of five-month-old Nidal, stated that his nephew died because of “food shortage and lack of formula,” noting that other similar cases in the hospital require urgent intervention to deliver therapeutic milk and proper infant nutrition.

Mohammad Al-Hams, the father of 10-day-old Kinda, confirmed his daughter also died from malnutrition and a lack of medication.

Medical sources report that the death toll due to food and medicine shortages in Gaza has now reached 244, most of whom are children and the elderly. Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis continues to escalate with no signs of relief.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel — as the occupying power — has been committing what many international voices describe as a genocide in Gaza. This includes mass killings, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, in blatant defiance of global appeals and International Court of Justice orders to halt the aggression.

So far, the Israeli onslaught has resulted in over 188,000 people killed or wounded — most of them women and children — with more than 11,000 missing and hundreds of thousands displaced. The famine sweeping Gaza has claimed numerous civilian lives, including children, marking one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history.