'Catastrophic': Infants in Gaza battle to stay alive amid formula shortage

With the glass of an incubator separating them, Ghadeer al-Koubtan looks at her baby, who has been in intensive care for the past three days.

Koubtan reaches through the porthole of the incubator and gently touches her daughter’s head, which is small enough to fit in her palm.

Ghandoura Ibrahim al-Faraa was born prematurely at less than eight months gestation and suffers - alongside her mother and others in Gaza - from malnutrition.

She tells Middle East Eye that early birth was inevitable due to multiple nutrient deficiencies brought on by hunger, including a lack of calcium.

“There’s no milk or anything that would help get my daughter healthy or even myself,” she says. 

Read more: Formula supplies are nearly depleted for babies placed in intensive care