"Skin on Bone"... Children in Gaza Unable to Even Cry

SadaNews - On the pink-painted walls in the malnutrition treatment wing of Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip, there are cartoon drawings of children running, smiling, and playing with flowers and balloons, according to "Reuters."

Below the pictures, a group of mothers watches their motionless and silent infants, most of whom are extremely exhausted due to severe hunger, to the point that they cannot even cry.

Doctors told "Reuters" that this silence is common in places treating those suffering from acute malnutrition, indicating that the bodies have ceased to function.

Zina Radwan, the mother of ten-month-old Maria Suhaib Radwan, said: "She remains limp, thrown away, she doesn’t move, neither sits nor stands on her feet... she doesn’t respond to you."

Zina has been unable to find enough milk or food for her daughter and cannot breastfeed her, as she is also suffering from malnutrition, surviving on just one meal a day.

Over the past week, "Reuters" reporters spent five days at the Nasser Medical Complex, one of only four remaining centers in Gaza capable of treating children suffering from severe hunger.

During "Reuters"' stay, 53 cases of children with acute malnutrition were admitted, according to the department head.

Gaza's food supplies have run out after Israel, which is at war with Hamas, cut off all supplies to the sector since October 2023. The blockade was lifted in May, but with restrictions that Israel says are necessary to prevent the diversion of aid to armed groups.

In response to a request for comment, the Israeli government coordination unit overseeing aid said that Israel does not impose restrictions on the entry of aid trucks into Gaza, but international organizations face challenges in delivering aid within the sector.

The situation worsened in June and July as supplies ran out, with the World Health Organization warning of a famine outbreak, and images of malnourished children shocked the world.

The Gaza Health Ministry reports that 154 individuals, including 89 children, have died due to malnutrition, most of them in the past few weeks. A global hunger observatory stated yesterday (Tuesday) that a famine scenario is now occurring.

Israel says it does not aim to starve Gaza. This week, it announced steps to allow more aid to enter, including halting fighting in some locations, dropping food from the air, and providing safer routes.

The United Nations stated that the volume needed to avert famine and avoid a major health crisis is significant.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Fara, head of the pediatrics and obstetrics department at the Nasser Medical Complex, said: "We need infant milk, we need medical supplies, we need some food items, and special nutrition foods for the nutrition department... we need everything for the hospitals."

Israeli officials say that many of those who died from malnutrition in Gaza were suffering from pre-existing health issues, and famine experts say that this is common in the early stages of a hunger crisis.

Marco Kiraq, associate professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "Children with pre-existing health conditions are at greater risk; they are affected earlier." Kiraq helped develop the World Health Organization's treatment guidelines for severe malnutrition.

Al-Fara stated that his hospital is now dealing with malnourished children who had no previous health issues, such as Wateen Abu Amuna, who was born healthy about three months ago and now weighs 100 grams less than her birth weight.

He added: "So, in the last three months, we didn't gain a single gram. On the contrary, the child has lost weight."

He continued: "There is complete loss of muscle. Just skin over bones... a sign that the child has entered a stage of severe malnutrition; if we observe even the child's face, we will find a loss of the fatty tissue in the cheek area."

Yasmin Abu Sultan, the mother of the child, points to her daughter’s limbs, noting that her arms are the same width as her mother's thumb.

Yasmin said while pointing to her daughter: "Do you see? These are her legs. Look at her arms."

Supply Shortages and Hospital Capacity Issues

Al-Fara and the World Health Organization told "Reuters" that younger children, in particular, need special therapeutic formulas prepared using clean water, noting the supply shortages.

Marina Adrianopoli, head of the World Health Organization nutrition response team in Gaza, mentioned that "all main supplies for treating acute severe malnutrition, including medical complications, are already running out... the situation is really critical."

She added that treatment centers are also operating above their capacity.

In the first two weeks of July, more than five thousand children under five received outpatient treatment for malnutrition, with 18 percent of them suffering from severe forms of malnutrition.

The World Health Organization stated that this figure represents an increase compared to 6,500 children for the entire month of June. This is already the highest figure in the war and most likely underreported.

The mother of Wateen said she attempted to admit her to the hospital last month, but the center was completely full. After ten days without milk and with just one barely adequate meal for the rest of the family, she returned last week because her daughter's condition was deteriorating.

Like several infants at the Nasser Center, Wateen is also suffering from fever and recurrent diarrhea, ailments to which children with malnutrition are more susceptible, making their condition more severe.

The mother said: "If she remains like this, I will lose her."

Wateen is still in the hospital receiving treatment, where her mother encourages her to take small sips from a bottle of formula milk. Doctors told "Reuters" that one side effect of acute malnutrition is loss of appetite, contrary to what is intuitive. Mother Yasmin herself survives on one meal a day provided by the hospital.

Other children met by "Reuters", like Maria (10 months), left the hospital early this week after gaining weight and were given formula milk to take home with them.

But others, like Zainab Abu Halib (five months), did not survive.

The child's body became so weak that it could no longer fight off infections due to acute malnutrition. She died on Saturday from blood poisoning, and her parents left the hospital carrying her small body wrapped in white shrouds.