Gaza’s infants in jeopardy: Formula shortages blamed on blockade

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    In the bustling Khan Younis enclave of the Gaza Strip, Seham Fawzy Khodeir sits forlornly at the side of her newborn son, Hisham al-Lahham. The fragile infant, just days old, huddles in a rundown incubator, his feeble cries blending with the mechanical hum around him. Khodeir, a mother of six, faces an overwhelming dread for Hisham’s survival as he battles for life with the aid of complex machines and nourishment from a thin tube.

    The crux of her anxiety is the dwindling supply of vital medical-grade formula, crucial for her son’s sustenance. “We are out of milk,” shares the 24-year-old mother, reflecting her despair. Hisham’s plight echoes across Gaza, where 580 premature infants are precariously perched on the brink of starvation, asserts the Gaza Health Ministry. Families and healthcare providers attribute this grave state to the ongoing Israeli blockade.

    “The situation leaves these infants voiceless and desperately short on time,” states Dr. Ahmed al-Farah, who oversees pediatrics and obstetrics at the beleaguered Nasser Hospital, a key facility remaining semi-operational in southern Gaza. Khodeir’s son is among many in the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital, where the shortage looms large. Previously, Dr. al-Farah raised alarms about their depleted formula reserves, warning of an impending catastrophe if the situation were not addressed in short order.

    There was some temporary relief when 20 boxes of formula were supplied by a U.S. aid organization over the weekend. Dr. al-Farah noted this was a short-term fix for about two weeks, underscoring the necessity for a sustainable solution and the lifting of the blockade. Simultaneously, Dr. Jamil Suliman from Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City reports a complete exhaustion of fortified formula meant for newborns, compounded by mothers struggling with malnutrition, unable to breastfeed, signaling a growing crisis.

    Babies in Gaza face dire consequences as Israel’s blockade continues, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis. This blockade, initiated on March 2, severely restricts food, water, and medical supplies entry into the region. Facing global scrutiny and United Nations’ warnings of looming famine, Israel allowed minimal aid, which commenced on May 19. However, the aid trickle has not sufficed, with only over 1,000 tons of formula and baby food entering Gaza since, reported by Israel’s defense agency, COGAT.

    Nevertheless, Gaza health experts argue the aid is insufficient, lacking crucial medications, equipment, and necessary spare parts to keep facilities functioning. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights recently flagged that local markets are nearly devoid of fortified infant formula, with some variants completely unavailable.

    The formula distribution predominantly occurs through international organizations rather than the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed contractor. This has spurred tensions, with reports alleging Israeli forces firing at crowds approaching GHF sites, countered by claims of merely warning shots being fired.

    The Israeli government defends the blockade as leverage to force Hamas to release hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The offensive resulted in significant loss of life and captives, sparking the ongoing conflict. Israel alleges that Hamas diverts aid resources, a claim unverified by the United Nations, which reports no major diversions.

    The face of this warfare and blockade has wrought unyielding devastation, with Gaza’s health framework teetering on the edge of collapse due to the acute scarcity of essential resources. Of its 36 hospitals, only 17 offer partial services, striving to serve over 2 million residents amidst destruction, starvation, and medical shortages. “Starvation is rising,” cautioned Jonathan Whittall of the U.N., shedding light on the grim reality where over 110 malnourished children are registered for care daily since year start.

    The region’s health havens are reduced to operating under substandard, overflowing conditions, lacking vital health commodities. Human Rights Watch has called attention to the plight of pregnant women and girls flagging inadequate health care access alongside other essentials like food and water, elevating the risk of preventable fatalities.

    The health ministry repeatedly warns of fading medical inventories and fuel exhaustion, pivotal for hospital generators amid glaring power shortages. Whittall highlights fuel rationing as a stopgap measure, cautioning that unless Gaza’s fuel crisis is resolved, unnecessary and preventable deaths will mount.

    Nasser Hospital exemplifies these predicaments, necessitating electricity cuts to certain departments amid relentless patient influx, as Ismail Abu-Nimer, head of engineering, detailed. Condemning the moral indictment of the conditions, Dr. Mohammad Saqer voices the dire reality besieging Gaza’s health infrastructure.