A four-month-old Palestinian baby girl has died of malnutrition in Gaza, marking another tragic consequence of the ongoing Israeli blockade that has strangled the enclave’s access to essential food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid for over two months.

Medical sources at Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital confirmed on Saturday the death of Jinan Saleh Skafi, who succumbed to severe malnutrition and lack of access to life-saving milk and nutritional supplements. The child's death underscores the worsening humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Since her birth, Jinan had struggled with persistent dehydration and diarrhea, conditions exacerbated by the acute shortage of baby formula and therapeutic nutrition. Despite her mother’s repeated pleas to international organizations to evacuate her daughter for treatment abroad, no assistance arrived in time. After four months, Jinan's weight had increased by only 200 grams — from 2.6 kg at birth to just 2.8 kg.

Al-Rantisi Hospital reported that cases like Jinan’s are becoming alarmingly frequent, with daily admissions of children suffering from severe malnutrition and its life-threatening complications. Doctors say many infants are unable to access basic nutrients necessary for survival, as the siege tightens its grip on the already devastated population.

“Children in Gaza are wasting away before our eyes,” a hospital spokesperson stated. “Malnutrition is weakening their immunity, stunting their growth, and leaving many at risk of death.”

The World Health Organization has described the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic,” warning that the prolonged blockade is pushing the population into famine-like conditions. According to the organization, nearly all children in Gaza are now facing malnutrition, with long-term developmental and health consequences that will scar an entire generation.

The Israeli military’s decision to seal all crossings into Gaza since March 2 has brought humanitarian aid to a halt, cutting off more than two million people from food, medical care, and fuel. The Gaza Government Media Office recently declared that the enclave has entered the “first stages of famine.”

Since the beginning of Israel’s military campaign on October 7, more than 170,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded, most of them women and children. Thousands more remain missing under the rubble, and basic infrastructure has collapsed.

As the siege continues, humanitarian agencies and rights groups are urging the international community to act immediately to pressure Israel to lift the blockade and allow for the unfettered delivery of aid. Without urgent intervention, more preventable deaths like Jinan’s are inevitable. (ILKHA)