Gaza, 8 August 2025 – As the world marked the annual World Breastfeeding Week from 1 to 7 August, mothers and infants in Gaza struggled to survive amidst a man-made famine. Israeli forces continued to use starvation as a weapon of war and a tool of genocide, depriving children of their most basic rights, including access to breastfeeding. With food, clean water, and medical supplies deliberately obstructed, mothers are unable to nourish their babies, and dozens of infants have died from hunger in the past four months alone.

Israeli forces have rendered breastfeeding, a fundamental right and a natural practice, nearly impossible for children in Gaza as they struggle for survival. Widespread hunger has affected the entire population, with pregnant and lactating women among the hardest hit. Deprived of adequate nutrition, expectant mothers are forced to endure extreme hunger at a time when they require a healthy, diverse diet rich in vitamins, proteins, and minerals to support both their own health and that of their unborn babies. As a result, babies are increasingly being born with clear signs of malnutrition, including low birth weight and severe muscle wasting. In Gaza today, an estimated 50,000 lactating women and 40,000 infants under the age of one face life-threatening conditions.

Breastfeeding, which should be a life-sustaining act, has become a daily fight for survival. Starvation has deprived pregnant and lactating women of the strength and nutrients needed to carry healthy pregnancies or produce breast milk. Meanwhile, safe alternatives are largely unavailable, as the entry of baby formula and supplements has been tightly restricted for over four months. Denied adequate food and essential care, both mothers and babies are trapped in a cycle of preventable suffering resulting from Israel’s deliberate siege and systematic starvation.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), citing Gaza Ministry of Health data, at least 20 newborn babies  died within 24 hours of birth during the first half of 2025. UNFP links those deaths to starvation, the collapse of the healthcare system, and immense psychological stress on mothers.  Around 33% of all newborns – approximately 5,560 infants – were either born prematurely, underweight, or required admission to neonatal intensive care units. Gaza’s healthcare system continues to collapse under the strain of Israel’s ongoing siege and relentless attacks. The majority of hospitals and health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, while those that remain are only partially functional, and increasingly unable to provide life-saving care to mothers and newborns. In addition, 70% of essential medicines are unavailable, and half of all medical equipment is damaged, severely restricting access to critical neonatal care by up to 70%.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that of the 74 malnutrition-related deaths recorded so far in 2025, 63 occurred in July alone, including 24 children under five, one child over five, and 38 adults. Most of these individuals were declared dead upon arrival at healthcare facilities or died shortly thereafter, showing visible signs of severe wasting. Acute malnutrition has reached alarming levels in Gaza City, where nearly one in five children under five is now affected, according to reports from Nutrition Cluster partners. Rates of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) among children aged six to 59 months have tripled in Gaza City since June, making it the worst-affected area. In Khan Younis and the Central Governorate, GAM rates have also surged, doubling in less than a month. These figures are likely to be underestimates, as severe security restrictions continue to prevent many families from accessing healthcare facilities.

N.H., a resident of Al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City who is currently displaced in the western part of the city, told Al Mezan that her three-year-old child was diagnosed with malnutrition. She explained that although she received a nutritional supplement to treat the condition, her child refuses to eat it due to its unpleasant taste. “He always cries and asks me to give him eggs,” she said. “But eggs are not available in the market – and neither are meat, chicken, fruit and vegetables.”

She added that even adults are now suffering from the effects of malnutrition. “We, the adults, have started to experience fatigue and mental distraction due to poor nutrition,” she said. “We barely manage to eat one meal a day, and that is usually lentils or pasta. We’ve been deprived of most types of food.”

A joint statement by UN agencies, issued on 29 July 2025, reported that over 320,000 children – the entire population under the age of five in Gaza – are at risk of acute malnutrition, with thousands already suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the most lethal form of undernutrition. Essential nutrition services have collapsed, leaving infants without access to safe drinking water, baby formula, or supplements.

The statement noted that in June, 6,500 children were treated for malnutrition, the highest number since the beginning of the ongoing genocide. The number appears to be even higher in July, with 5,000 children admitted for treatment within the first two weeks alone. With less than 15% of essential therapeutic feeding services currently operational, the risk of malnutrition-related deaths among infants and young children is higher than ever.

According to data from the WHO, an additional 73 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications were admitted to hospitals in July, compared to 39 children in June, bringing the total number of inpatient admissions in 2025 so far to 263 cases.

Meanwhile, data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicates that 188 Palestinians, including 94 children, have died from hunger-related causes since Israeli forces blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on 2 March 2025. The Ministry particularly warns of the devastating impact on pregnant women, with 62,000 women in Gaza suffering from severe malnutrition, undermining their ability to nourish their fetuses or breastfeed after birth.

A mother from Gaza, herself suffering from malnutrition, told Al Mezan: “My daughter relies on breastfeeding, but I do not have access to the kind of food that would help me produce milk. The food available is of poor quality, and eggs, meat, fruits and vegetables are not available in the markets. The few items you can find there are unaffordable. The nutritional supplements from UNICEF are never enough – they are supposed to complement a diet, but for me, they have become my daily breakfast or dinner.”

Severe shortages of food, safe drinking water, and basic necessities are taking a devastating toll on pregnant and breastfeeding women, undermining their health and their ability to nourish their babies.

A mother of four orphaned children – the eldest aged ten and the youngest a year and a half – whose husband was killed on 21 January 2024, told Al Mezan: “My children have lost access to food, clean water, and necessary medical care. They show signs of weakness, are unable to play or run, and some have developed skin diseases. My son Mohammed, who is 10 years old, was diagnosed with malnutrition and is in urgent need of food rich in proteins and vitamins. I can see him continuously losing weight, which is not normal for his age.”

She added: “Today, all I look for is flour to ease my children’s hunger, but what is available in the markets smells bad, is full of worms, and is very expensive. There is no other food to give them for the entire day. My children are losing weight, they move less and less, and even their hearing and eyesight are deteriorating dangerously. I don’t want to lose my children as I lost my husband. I have no one else in this life but them.”

Premature babies face an even greater threat, as hospitals warn of hundreds of babies at risk of death due to the lack of baby formula. Doctors stress that inadequate nutrition during a child’s first three years not only leads to disease or death but can also cause irreversible cognitive and developmental damage.

The humanitarian disaster goes beyond hunger – the desperate search for food is also killing people. Between 27 May and 5 August 2025, more than 1,568 people were killed and 11,230 injured while attempting to obtain food. Israeli forces continue to manipulate food aid as a weapon and a method of genocide through the establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been turned into a death trap for starving and desperate Palestinians. While Gaza requires 600-800 aid trucks daily, only 594 trucks entered between 27 July and 2 August 2025 – many routed through roads known as being prone to looting and almost entirely stripped of their contents.

The ongoing Israeli siege and the denial of humanitarian aid and essential items have had a devastating impact on maternal healthcare in Gaza. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, parties to a conflict are obligated to permit the free passage of medicines, medical equipment, essential foodstuffs, clothing, and tonics intended for children under 15, expectant mothers, and maternity cases. Instead of fulfilling these obligations, Israeli forces have enforced a blockade and systematically destroyed healthcare facilities, diagnostic equipment, and essential resources. Forced displacement has further deprived women and their families of these necessities, pushing them into overcrowded areas with no infrastructure, where they endure extreme weather in worn-out tents, severe water shortages, a lack of basic hygiene supplies, and the spread of disease.

Israeli forces continue to violate the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide through mass killings, the infliction of severe harm, and the imposition of conditions of life calculated to bring about the population’s physical destruction, including through starvation, dehydration, and denial of medical care – and measures aimed at preventing births. UNFPA reports show a 41% drop in births in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2022.

Field data confirms that the elements of genocide are fully present – not only in Israeli actions in Gaza, but also in public statements by senior Israeli officials openly calling for the killing of Gaza’s population, including children, dehumanizing them, and obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid.

The ongoing international tolerance of Israel’s escalating genocide reflects a collapse of humanitarian and moral standards, and a broader breakdown of the international system founded on international law. Sympathy is not enough – Palestinians, especially pregnant and lactating women and their babies, need immediate and decisive action to halt the genocide and guarantee access to sufficient food and healthcare to sustain healthy pregnancies, safe breastfeeding, and infant survival.

Accordingly, Al Mezan urgently calls for:

• An immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to all parts of Gaza in sufficient quantities, including all types of infant formula, food, water, and fuel.
• Specific protection and sustained nutritional support for pregnant and lactating women and their babies, ensuring access to adequate food, clean water, and medical care to preserve maternal and child health and enable safe breastfeeding.
• Restoration of Gaza’s power plant; provision of fuel, generators, spare parts, and oils to keep life-saving services operational.
• Respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and implementation of International Court of Justice rulings, including ending the occupation and prosecuting all suspected war criminals.
• Protection of what remains of vital civilian infrastructure in Gaza, especially schools, hospitals, water and sanitation facilities.
• Immediate medical evacuation for thousands of wounded and sick individuals, particularly women and children, endangered by Israel’s systematic destruction of health facilities.