Malnourished Gazan Babies in the Refugee Tents

October 9, 2025 | 03:17 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Somaya Abu al-Naja sat beside the bed of her daughter, Huda, inside a refugee tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The 37-year-old mother worries constantly about her 12-year-old child, whom doctors have diagnosed with acute malnutrition. "The illness and emaciation have consumed my little girl. She sleeps almost all day now and suffers from extreme exhaustion," Somaya told Tempo on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

Huda's limbs are swollen. She struggles to walk. Her once-beautiful hair, which she used to enjoy combing, has fallen out. "Now she's afraid of the comb. She fears losing what little she has left," said Somaya. Huda's delicate skin has begun to peel, including the skin on her face. "Her weight keeps dropping. She now weighs only 20 kilograms, down from 35."

Since Israel sealed Gaza's border crossings in March 2025, Somaya has been unable to provide proper food for her daughter. Markets are empty. There is no milk or animal protein for Huda, and fresh fruits and vegetables are scarce.

Even when available, prices have skyrocketed beyond reach, soaring up to 15,200 percent compared to prewar levels.

All Somaya can offer her daughter now are canned food with little nutrition and a few nutritional supplements distributed by humanitarian organizations still operating in Gaza. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reports that its food and wheat supplies ran out months ago, with no new aid received since March 2, 2025.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

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