By Al Jazeera Staff
Jul 31, 2025
Palestinian newborns starving in Gaza as infant formula runs out
Mothers fill bottles with water and whatever food they can find as Israel’s blockade continues to fuel starvation crisis.
Palestinian mothers in the Gaza Strip are desperately trying to feed their newborns as Israel’s punishing blockade on the besieged enclave has led to dire shortages of infant formula, with some resorting to filling bottles with water and whatever food they can find.
Dr Kahlil Daqran told Al Jazeera on Thursday that as supplies of formula run out, many mothers are often too malnourished to breastfeed their infants.
“In the Gaza Strip, we have thousands of children being starved because there is no milk for children under the age of two,” Daqran said.
“These children, their mothers also have malnutrition because there is no food, so the mothers cannot produce milk. Now, our children are being fed either water or ground hard legumes, and this is harmful for children in Gaza.”
Azhar Imad, 31, said she has mixed tahini with water in hopes of feeding four-month-old Joury. But she said she fears the mixture will make her baby sick.
“I am using this paste instead of milk, but she won’t drink it. All these can cause illnesses,” Imad said. “Sometimes, I give her water in the bottle; there’s nothing available. I make her caraway and herbs, any kind of herbs.”
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