Gaza – In Gaza’s bombed-out hospitals, the cries of hungry newborns are now met with silence. For four months, no infant formula has entered the besieged Strip, not through aid agencies, not through hospitals, and not through the private sector. The shelves are empty, and time is running out.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Farra, head of paediatrics at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, issued an urgent appeal this week, warning that 25 newborns in the neonatal unit are at risk of dying within 48 hours. Premature babies, who require specialised formula, now have no chance of survival if supplies do not arrive immediately. “We have reached zero hour,” he said.

The crisis extends far beyond one hospital. UNICEF reports that 21 nutrition centres have shut down since March due to Israeli bombardment and evacuation orders. At least 350 children who depended on these centres are now without treatment, and nearly 10,000 infants under six months need supplemental feeding. The remaining formula can only serve 400 babies for one month, a drop in the ocean of desperation.

Without proper formula, families are turning to dangerous substitutes mixed with unsafe water, risking infection and death. And as Israel’s total blockade on Gaza continues, even this option may soon disappear.

This is not neglect, it is calculated starvation. With aid trucks denied entry, fuel supplies halted, and over 60 food kitchens bombed, the message is clear: even Gaza’s babies are not spared. Gaza’s infants are not dying of malnutrition. They are dying of siege.