Medical staff at Nasser Hospital, Gaza’s largest referral centre, have issued an urgent warning that hundreds of premature and newborn babies are at imminent risk of death as infant formula supplies have completely run dry. Hospitals, markets, and aid agencies across Gaza have exhausted their stocks of this vital nutrition, leaving vulnerable infants without the means to survive.

This catastrophic shortage comes amid a tightening blockade and relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza’s infrastructure, which have decimated medical supply chains and essential services. Health officials have repeatedly cautioned that Gaza’s healthcare system is on the verge of total collapse.

Premature infants face dire conditions, dependent on incubators that require uninterrupted electricity, yet power outages are now routine due to ongoing bombardments targeting Gaza’s power grid. Backup fuel reserves for generators have also run out in many hospitals, pushing neonatal care beyond breaking point.

Without immediate delivery of infant formula and restoration of electricity, countless newborn lives hang in the balance as the humanitarian crisis spirals deeper into tragedy.