From Wafa news: Inside the neonatal unit of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, tiny bodies of babies barely move inside incubators, covered with light medical cloths, while resuscitation machines struggle to keep them alive amid the ongoing Israeli aggression for the 19th month .
Inside the ward, there was no screaming or crying as is usual from newborn babies, but rather a soft moaning and heavy silence, reflecting their extreme weakness and critical health condition, in an exhausting scene that portends an imminent humanitarian disaster .
No food or medicine
This silence reflects the tragedy amid a severe shortage of food and medicine, and the collapse of the health system as a result of the ongoing Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip .
No medical or food shipments for newborns have entered the Gaza Strip for more than a month and a half, according to medical reports. This is the longest interruption since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. This has led to a deterioration in healthcare and threatened the lives of dozens of children in nurseries and maternity wards .
Since March 2, the occupation has continued to close the Gaza Strip’s crossings to the entry of food, relief, medical aid, and goods, causing a significant deterioration in the humanitarian situation.
In an interview with the Turkish Anadolu Agency, pediatrician Fidaa Al-Nadi at Nasser Medical Complex said the hospital is facing a major crisis in providing appropriate milk for children, especially those with digestive problems, in addition to a severe shortage of diapers and basic supplies .
She added: “These needs are completely unmet and cannot be easily compensated for. Moreover, a mother’s malnutrition during pregnancy directly impacts the child’s health after birth .”
Life in danger
She stressed that the continued occupation siege on the Gaza Strip directly threatens the lives of children .
She explained that the infants who survived the bombing are now besieged by the starvation policies practiced by the occupation in the Gaza Strip as part of its war of extermination.
Last Friday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned that Gaza was approaching a state of “extremely severe hunger” due to the ongoing Israeli blockade .
UNRWA Director of Media and Communications Juliette Touma said in a statement that infants and children in the Gaza Strip are “going to bed hungry” as essential supplies in the Strip are running out .
She stressed that “this new phase of famine comes at a time when the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have not yet recovered from a previous wave, as Israel has rationed aid to the Strip for a year and a half since the genocide, depriving hundreds of thousands of poor families of their free food rations .”
Humanitarian appeal
The doctor issued an urgent appeal to the international community and relevant authorities to immediately open the crossings, stressing that this measure “will save children’s lives .”
She added: “Every day that passes means more danger to their lives. We don’t have time, and our children don’t have alternatives .”
On Tuesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement that the Gaza Strip is experiencing the worst humanitarian situation since the start of the aggression.
The statement pointed out that the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza is due to the stifling blockade imposed by the occupation authorities since March 2, which has completely closed the crossings and prevented the entry of any humanitarian aid .
