DaysofPal – As Israel’s war on Gaza enters its second year, the suffering of Palestinian families continues to intensify, with infants bearing the brunt of the crisis.
The Israeli blockade has deprived families of essential resources, including baby formula and diapers, turning basic necessities into luxuries.
Parents across Gaza are struggling to find formula for their infants, often embarking on exhausting searches from camp to camp and pharmacy to pharmacy.
Even when available, the prices are staggering, with a can of formula costing 60 shekels and a pack of diapers reaching an unprecedented 400 shekels.
Skyrocketing Prices
Bahaa Yahya, a father of a six-month-old baby, described the hardship of finding formula. “I’ve been searching for two days, visiting countless pharmacies, and still can’t find the right formula for my son,” he said.
Yahya added that the soaring prices have compounded the struggle. “My child needs a can of formula every three days because he can’t breastfeed.
Each can is unaffordable, and even diapers are now 10 shekels (approximately 3,5$) per piece,” he explained.
The crisis has forced some parents to resort to desperate measures. Amal Mohammed, another Gaza parent, shared her heartbreaking story.
“I’m trying to give my baby solid food as a substitute for formula, even though it’s dangerous and hard for him to digest,” she said.
Amal added that the food supplies for infants are also dwindling due to the severe shortages.
Amal’s stored cans of formula ran out months ago. She questioned the intent of the ongoing blockade, asking, “What crime has my six-month-old committed to be deprived of milk? Is this the so-called target of Israel’s war? A systematic attack on everything Palestinian?”
She called on humanitarian organizations and child rights advocates to intervene, urging them to provide milk and other essentials to Gaza’s children, who are increasingly caught in what she described as a campaign of annihilation.
Supply Shortages
Pharmacist Maher Khalil explained that Israel’s restrictions allow only 6% of the needed formula and diaper supplies into Gaza.
“This deliberate shortfall has caused prices to spike dramatically,” he said.
Khalil noted that his pharmacy’s shelves are nearly empty. “I have only one can of Cerelac and one can of formula for babies over six months old. There are no diapers left.
The little stock we have comes from aid donations that people sell to survive,” he explained.
He described the situation as part of a systematic starvation policy targeting Gaza’s most vulnerable, including children and infants.
Rising Malnutrition
The humanitarian toll is staggering. According to a United Nations report, over 15,000 children in Gaza are suffering from severe malnutrition, including 3,288 diagnosed with acute malnutrition.
Since the start of 2024, screenings of 240,000 children revealed widespread nutritional deficiencies, with over 50,000 children in urgent need of intervention.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has surpassed catastrophic levels
Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported that 15,000 pregnant women in Gaza are on the brink of starvation due to the intensified Israeli assault.
UNRWA further noted on its platform, “X,” that Gaza is home to 50,000 pregnant women, with an estimated 4,000 births expected in December. These women and their newborns face life-threatening challenges as the blockade continues to suffocate Gaza’s access to critical resources.
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