The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) has issued an urgent appeal to save the lives of hundreds of infants and premature babies who face death because they are being deprived of essential therapeutic milk.
In a statement released on Monday, the Centre said the appeal comes amid the ongoing complete Israeli closure of the Gaza Strip crossings for nearly four months, along with the prevention of humanitarian and medical aid entry – actions that constitute a war crime and part of an ongoing genocide policy continuing into its second year.
The statement highlighted a severe and unprecedented shortage of therapeutic milk for premature infants in Gaza hospitals. Fortified milk types have completely run out in neonatal units – these are essential for children with health issues such as immune deficiencies, digestive problems, and an inability to breastfeed naturally.
Dr Jamil Suleiman, Director of Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, confirmed that the therapeutic milk needed for some children – especially those with gastrointestinal illnesses – has not been available at all in the hospital for a long time.
He also noted the unavailability of fortified infant formula stages 1 and 2, in addition to many mothers being unable to breastfeed due to malnutrition.
Dr Suleiman said the hospital needs approximately 500 cans of therapeutic milk per month, yet currently only a very limited amount is available, and it is about to run out completely due to the harsh blockade.
Doctors are powerless in the face of worsening conditions of some children, and deaths have already been recorded, with the lack of therapeutic milk likely being a contributing factor.
It has become increasingly difficult to diagnose children’s conditions due to a shortage of necessary medical supplies.
He stressed the urgent need for various types of therapeutic milk such as LF (Lactose-Free), AR (Anti-Reflux), Isomil, soya-based formula, hydrolysed formula, and fortified infant formula from stage 1 to stage 3.
According to the statement, fortified infant formula is nearly out of stock in local markets, with many types already completely unavailable. Where small quantities do exist in certain pharmacies, prices are extremely high – far beyond the purchasing power of most families in Gaza – making the milk inaccessible for infants who desperately need it.
Azhar Mohammed Warsh Agha, 33, a widow living in a tent on Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City, said Israeli forces killed her husband at the end of last year. She has a four-month-old infant daughter.
She explained: ‘My daughter, Hoor Ghaleb Agha, was born by C-section at Friends of the Patient Hospital on March 26, 2025.
‘Doctors placed her in the neonatal unit for several days and fed her therapeutic and formula milk due to jaundice.
‘After a few days, she was discharged, and I began feeding her infant formula for babies under six months old.’
She added: ‘Since Israeli forces closed the border crossings and blocked the entry of humanitarian aid, including therapeutic and formula milk, the milk began disappearing from markets and the Health Ministry’s warehouses.
‘I couldn’t find the specific milk for my baby, so a few days ago I was forced to buy a can of milk not suitable for her age – intended for babies over six months – at a price ten times higher than normal.’
She continued: ‘After feeding her this milk, my daughter suffered from bloating, breathing difficulties, and severe diarrhoea.
‘Her condition required a hospital visit. Doctors warned that if the diarrhoea did not stop, I should bring her back for rehydration therapy to avoid dehydration.
‘I don’t know what to do or where to get milk for my baby.
‘Her health is deteriorating. I’m diluting the milk I have and feeding it to her, even though I know it’s dangerous.’
The PCHR warned of the escalating danger threatening the lives of thousands of children in Gaza due to sharply rising malnutrition rates – a glaring indicator of the total humanitarian collapse under the ongoing Israeli blockade.
According to data from the United Nations aid organisation UNICEF-supported nutrition centres, May alone recorded 5,119 cases of acute malnutrition in children aged six months to five years, including 636 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition – the deadliest and most dangerous form.
These children require immediate medical intervention, including therapeutic nutrition, clean water, and ongoing healthcare – services that have become largely unavailable due to Israel’s systematic closure of crossings and prevention of humanitarian aid entry.
Since February, rates of acute malnutrition have increased by 146%. From the beginning of the year until the end of May, 16,736 children were admitted to hospitals for treatment – an average of 112 children per day.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) received reports of 55 child deaths due to malnutrition. The number of deaths is expected to rise if the blockade and aid restrictions continue, the statement warned.
The PCHR emphasised that the Israeli occupation forces’ prevention of food and medicine entry – including life-saving therapeutic milk – is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which criminalises starvation as a method of warfare, including obstruction of essential supplies for the survival of civilians.
The Centre called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop its ongoing crimes against Palestinian civilians and to fulfil its legal obligations by urgently opening the border crossings and allowing the entry of humanitarian and relief aid, including life-saving infant therapeutic milk.
It also urged the European Commission and all European Union member states to take concrete measures, including suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
The Centre asserted that the continuation of this agreement constitutes EU complicity in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Finally, it called on the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health to monitor and expose Israeli crimes.
• A new report released on Monday by the Centre for Political and Development Studies has laid bare the devastating impact of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza on Palestinian women, highlighting both their suffering and their resilience in the face of systematic targeting and humanitarian collapse.
According to the report, women and children account for approximately 70% of the victims of Israel’s military assault on the Gaza Strip.
Since the start of the aggression on October 7th, 2023, more than 10,000 women have been killed – including 6,000 mothers, leaving behind over 19,000 orphaned children, based on data from UN Women.
The study details how, beyond the immediate violence, Palestinian women are being forced into new roles as sole providers amid the destruction of homes, infrastructure, and social safety nets.
Displaced and living in overcrowded shelters, many women now shoulder physically exhausting responsibilities such as collecting firewood and baking bread under dire, unsanitary conditions.
It also warns of spiralling health and psychological crises: women are giving birth without access to medical care, while over 690,000 women and girls are being denied access to basic hygiene products.
The report notes an increase in violence and insecurity inside displacement shelters, creating further trauma for women and girls.
Looking ahead, the report outlines serious post-war challenges, including surging unemployment among women, weakened family and community support structures, limited access to education for girls, and the marginalisation of women’s rights during the reconstruction phase.
The study calls for an immediate halt to the aggression, the deployment of specialised female-led medical teams, and the provision of mobile clinics and trauma support services.
It also urges international actors to ensure the meaningful inclusion of women in Gaza’s reconstruction and to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for crimes against women through the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Importantly, the report asserts that Palestinian women are ‘not mere victims, but partners in resilience, creators of dignity, and architects of tomorrow.’
It calls for a just, gender-sensitive humanitarian response that centres women in the rebuilding of Gaza, warning that reconstruction without them is neither ethical nor sustainable.