Dima Jalal Saud Reports from Rafah

WITH CROSSING CLOSED and humanitarian aid scarce, mothers in Gaza face heartbreaking challenges.

Often, they have nothing but dry bread and water to feed their infants, and on the rare, good days, they manage to provide lentil soup cooked on wood fire.

The daily struggles endured by families in the Gaza Strip are leading to hospitalisations and deaths of young children. 

Ghadir Mohammed, 28, is gravely concerned for her one-and-half year-old son, Yousef, who is battling severe malnutrition.

He currently lies in the paediatric ward of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital – the only hospital for central Gaza. Yousef’s condition is not merely a consequence of food scarcity; it is exacerbated by the unavailability – because of the Israeli-imposed blockade – of the specialised milk he requires for his health.

Near the hospital, Samla Amer, 33, lives in a tent with her husband and two children. 

They fled from Gaza City to Deir al-Balah last October and has no source of income. 

“There is no gas to enable me to boil some water and make a cup of milk for my children,” she told The Journal.

“Some days, there is no food. All I can offer my children is some available bread with hot water to dissolve it. I am grateful I can provide sugar to it, but infant formula is too expensive. Both of my children have lost weight during the wars.”

Yousef’s plight underscores the multifaceted nature of the malnutrition crisis in Gaza. It is not only about the quantity of food available but also the accessibility of essential nutritional products necessary for the health of vulnerable populations.

His case highlights the broader systemic issues affecting the region, illustrating how the blockade impacts the availability of specific medical and nutritional supplies critical for children’s health and well-being.

There is a limited variety of vegetables available in the local markets, but fruits are not available. Some frozen meat is available, but fresh meat or chicken is not.

The supply of medication is also limited.

Prices of petrol and cooking fuel have skyrocketed, reaching at least triple their prewar levels.

Some items now cost dozens of times more than they did before the start of Israel’s war with Hamas.

The situation has reached a point where many families cannot afford to buy these available types, even if they are available in short quantities.

Dr. Sharif Mattar, a pediatric specialist at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, describes Gaza’s malnutrition crisis as “more severe and complex than most people realise”.

“The issue isn’t just about whether a child has eaten, but what they have eaten,” Mattar said. “Almost all food consists of bread. There is no proper, varied diet. The body needs a balanced diet with minerals, proteins, and vitamins, which have been unavailable for the past eight months.”

Malnutrition worsens children’s illnesses by weakening their immune systems, increasing their need for strong antibiotics to treat even simple diseases.

Additionally, there’s a critical shortage of therapeutic milk, essential for children with certain medical conditions.

“These children cannot switch to different types of milk. Due to the war and the Israeli blockade, many types of this milk are no longer available, putting these children at risk of death,” Mattar explained.

“Therapeutic milk is akin to antibiotics or medication. Each sick child requires a specific type of milk, and substituting it with another type is ineffective,” he continued.

Parents of children needing therapeutic milk face immense difficulties in obtaining it, and their children are at risk of death.

“Many types of this milk are either entirely unavailable or very rare in Gaza due to the closure of crossings,” Mattar said.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) reported on Saturday 8 June that children in Gaza are fleeing “violence, terror, and insecurity” instead of going to school.

In a post on its X account, Unicef stated, “Instead of going to school, children in Gaza are fleeing violence. Instead of sleeping safely with their families, they are living in temporary tents. Instead of enjoying a happy childhood, they are witnessing terror.”

The organization reiterated its call for a ceasefire and for unhindered access to humanitarian aid in Gaza. 

“The situation in Gaza shows that families are unable to meet their children’s nutritional needs, which could lead to severe consequences for the children,” Unicef reported, also highlighting that nine out of ten children in Gaza suffer from severe food shortages, with malnutrition increasing the risk to their lives.

According to the Gaza’s government media office, at least 37 children have died as a result of food scarcity, with recent victims being two infants who died on 30 May and 1 June in the middle governorate of the Gaza Strip. The media office describes Israel’s actions as a starvation policy. Benjamin Netanyahu denied similar charges when the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food said that depriving people of food is “clearly a war crime”.