In Gaza, where siege has long turned basic survival into a daily battle, even a mother’s attempt to feed her baby has become an act of torment. With borders sealed and aid trickling in at a painfully slow pace, parents are now forced to choose between giving their infants expired baby formula or letting them go hungry.

At a makeshift distribution point in Khan Younis, one father hesitated as he looked down at the tin in his hands. “They told me it’s fine for a few weeks after the expiry date,” he said quietly, “but my son is only three months old. If anything happens to him, there’s no hospital left to save him.”

Nearby, Hala Kaheel had a similar experience. She was elated to receive a message from a charity promising baby milk for her ten-month-old daughter. But when she saw the expiration date, her hope turned to horror. The response she received after reporting it left her stunned: “If you won’t feed it to her, turn it into yoghurt.”

Under normal conditions, no parent would risk feeding expired formula to their child. But nothing about life in Gaza is normal. Formula beyond its use-by date can cause fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea — symptoms that are now more dangerous than ever with most health centres either destroyed or barely functioning. And yet, many families have no other choice.

As Gaza's siege deepens, the smallest and most vulnerable pay the highest price. When expired baby milk becomes a lifeline, it is no longer just a health crisis — it is the deliberate weaponisation of hunger against an entire population.