Israel restricts baby formula, medical access into Gaza amid child hunger crisis: Report

Israeli authorities are facing renewed accusations of using hunger as a weapon of war after seizing cans of baby formula from a US doctor en route to Gaza, according to a report published Wednesday, Anadolu reports.

The accusations come as aid groups and medical professionals report mounting child deaths from malnutrition in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

In late June, an American doctor preparing to enter Gaza on a humanitarian mission had packed powdered baby formula, gauze, and medical supplies. But after arriving at the Allenby Bridge crossing from Jordan to the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces confiscated the formula, Le Monde reported.

“The baby formula was confiscated,” Palestinian-German surgeon Diana Nazzal, who coordinated the convoy, told the daily.

“What other explanation is there if it’s not that hunger is being used as a weapon of war in the ongoing genocide in Gaza?” Nazzal said in an exclusive interview with Le Monde.

Local health workers say baby formula, especially specialized types for premature or lactose-intolerant infants, remains critically scarce in Gaza, where widespread malnutrition has made it impossible for many mothers to breastfeed.

The Israeli army’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said it has facilitated the delivery of over 1,000 metric tons of baby food since May 19, when a full blockade was marginally eased. However, doctors on the ground warn that supplies remain insufficient.

Ahmad al-Farra, head of pediatrics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, said in June that stocks of specialized formula were nearly depleted.

While limited shipments have since arrived from US-based NGO Rahma, two babies died at the hospital in late June due to hunger and lack of care, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Between March and mid-May, 57 children died from malnutrition, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, a figure echoed by the World Health Organization.

Access for foreign doctors has also tightened. British orthopedic surgeon Graeme Groom said that in May, he was “not allowed to bring anything with him” for the first time in two years, including critical surgical tools. “I saw babies who were just skin and bones,” he said.

American physician Thaer Ahmad, who has faced repeated refusals from COGAT despite WHO-approved applications, said the Israeli restrictions were contributing to the “unraveling of Palestinian health and education institutions.”

“Speaking out means risking not being able to return to Gaza,” said French general practitioner Catherine Le Scolan-Quere. “But staying silent means letting Gazans be killed in silence.”