As Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering Gaza drain essential supplies, displaced Palestinians told CNN they are struggling to feed their children.
Starving mothers are unable to produce enough milk to breastfeed their babies, according to medical professionals. Parents arrive at overwhelmed health facilities begging for infant formula.
The Severity of Food Insecurity in Gaza
Gaza’s entire population of roughly 2.2 million people is facing “crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity,” according to the World Food Programme. The organization warns that child malnutrition in the enclave is “higher than anywhere in the world.” Tragically, two newborn baby girls died due to malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza recently, as reported by Dr. Samer Libd, a pediatrician at the Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Challenges in Aid Delivery
Israel insists there is “no limit” on the amount of aid that can enter Gaza; however, its inspection regime on aid trucks means that only a tiny fraction of the food and other supplies that used to enter Gaza daily before the war is getting in now. Last month, at least 118 people were killed while trying to access food aid in Gaza City, marking one of the worst single tragedies of the war to date.
Humanitarian Voices
Jamie McGoldrick, a UN humanitarian coordinator, recently returned from a two-day trip to Gaza and warned that hunger there has reached “catastrophic levels.” Adele Khodr, the regional director of the UNICEF office in the Middle East and North Africa, expressed that “people are hungry, exhausted, and traumatized. Many are clinging to life.”
The Context of the Crisis
This dire situation follows Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which began after the militant group Hamas killed at least 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 others in southern Israel on October 7.
