Deadly Hunger in Gaza: Infants Die Amid Siege and Systematic Extermination

In a scene that encapsulates the dire Palestinian suffering in Gaza, infant Jouri Al-Masri, who had not yet reached her third month, died of hunger in Deir al-Balah. Her death marks one of the youngest victims of a worsening famine driven by a comprehensive Israeli blockade, coupled with an ongoing campaign of extermination targeting both people and infrastructure.

Born in War, Killed by Hunger: Gaza’s Infants Have No Chance at Life

Jouri's life began like any other born healthy, with no chronic illnesses or deformities, as her father, Mohsen Al-Masri, confirmed. But soon after birth, she required a specific therapeutic milk formula that had been unavailable in Gaza for weeks due to the complete closure of border crossings and the ban on medical and food supplies.

"My daughter died of hunger, through no fault of her own," her father said, his voice cracking. He searched every possible location but couldn't find the milk, as his daughter’s condition rapidly deteriorated. Her frail body lost all signs of vitality.

Over time, Jouri’s appearance changed drastically: her body skeletal, her face pale, and her eyes sunken. She died silently, in the arms of a helpless family that could do nothing but watch. "These are war crimes committed against our children," her father added. "They are dying one after another because of a deliberate starvation policy."

A Repeating Tragedy: Jouri Is Not Alone

Jouri wasn’t the only victim. Within just 24 hours, two more infants, Nidal Sharab (5 months old) and Kinda Al-Hams (10 days old), died at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis due to acute malnutrition and lack of therapeutic milk. Three babies perished from hunger in a single day.

Images from Gaza now show tiny, emaciated faces and frail bodies, with muted cries the world refuses to hear. Famine in Gaza is no longer a looming threat; it is a deadly reality claiming the lives of the most innocent.

Ignored Medical Warnings: Gaza on the Brink of Mass Death

Since June 19, Gaza’s hospitals have issued urgent warnings about the depletion of baby formula and called on the international community to intervene and prevent a humanitarian disaster. Yet the world remained silent, leaving children to face starvation and disease.

Despite continued appeals, Israel has kept all crossings closed since March 2, preventing any food or medical aid from entering. The UN has since declared that Gaza has entered a state of “full famine,” a term signaling that death from hunger is now a certainty, not just a possibility.

According to Gaza's Government Media Office, at least 242 Palestinians have died due to lack of food and medicine, most of them infants and elderly people. This comes amid a near-total collapse of the healthcare system, caused by repeated Israeli strikes on hospitals and the complete depletion of medical supplies.

Healthcare centers can no longer treat patients; they have become places of helplessness and despair, where families wait with no medicine, no answers, and no hope.

Seventeen Years of Siege, Nine Months of Extermination: A Crime Against Humanity

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, backed fully by the United States, has waged a campaign of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Children, women, and the sick are targeted indiscriminately, in blatant disregard for international law and binding rulings from the International Court of Justice.

As of today, the war has left over 188,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, with more than 11,000 reported missing. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, living amid bombardment, famine, and forced displacement.

Israel has imposed a suffocating blockade on Gaza for more than 17 years, since 2007. But the latest war has destroyed what little remained. More than 1.5 million Palestinians are now homeless, their homes and camps reduced to rubble.

Food has become a dream, baby formula a rare medicine, and water a threat. Under constant bombing and a collapsing political and humanitarian landscape, children are paying the highest price.

Jouri Wasn’t the End She Is the Face of the Next Tragedy

Jouri’s death is not an isolated incident; it reflects a complete collapse of life in Gaza and an unprecedented level of systematic cruelty inflicted upon a defenseless population.

Every passing day adds more names to the list of famine and disease victims, while the siege persists and humanitarian efforts remain blocked. Jouri, Kinda, and Nidal are no longer just names; they are living proof that silence can kill and that starvation in Gaza is no longer a story—it is a public death unfolding in real time.

Childhood Under Fire: Global Conscience on Trial

What is happening in Gaza today is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is a total collapse of every value and principle that international humanitarian law claims to uphold. Babies dying of hunger in the 21st century is not the result of a natural disaster; it is the consequence of deliberate political decisions implemented through siege, starvation, and the systematic destruction of life.

Infants who should be in safe incubators are dying in tents or on hospital floors because of the absence of milk, medicine, and food. These are not isolated tragedies; they are deliberate war crimes. And the international community, in all its institutions, now stands accused not only of silence but of complicity through inaction or bias.

Gaza is not just a disaster zone; it is a mirror reflecting the depth of global political and moral failure. The children of Gaza are the clearest witnesses to this collapse. Their brief lives, cut short before they truly begin, must serve as a global wake-up call: save what remains of humanity, and save Gaza before it becomes a mass grave for innocence.

If this siege and extermination continue unchecked, it will not only destroy Palestinian lives; it will destroy the credibility of the values the world claims to defend. Either humanitarian corridors are opened and justice is pursued, or we all become partners in a crime of silence.