SHOTLIST: GAZA, PALESTINE (JUNE 27, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) 1. CLOSE SHOT OF PREMATURE BORN BABY, VETIN ABU BAKR (TWO SHOTS) 2. MOTHER HOLDING HAND OF VETIN ABU BAKR 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOTHER OF PREMATURE BORN BABY, VETIN ABU BAKR' SAYING: "I gave birth early while I was displaced in the south, in Deir al-Balah. I went into premature labor in the seventh month. My baby girl was born at the start of the seventh month, and her weight was just 570 grams. She stayed in the NICU. Thank God, through His mercy and the care she received in the NICU, her weight increased — now she’s one and a half kilograms. She’s a month and a few days old, and thank God, she’s doing better. My eldest son was born weighing 3.5 kilograms. Compared to him, this little one… when she was born, they thought she wouldn’t survive. The doctors said she might not make it and that her case was difficult. But thank God — through His will, the doctors’ efforts, and the care in the unit — she survived. In Gaza, there’s nothing — no proper buildings, no equipment. At home, we don’t even have water. Things like doing laundry and meeting daily needs are so difficult. For nearly a month, I didn’t come to the hospital. I was weak. I was afraid to see her. I used to pump milk and send it with others. Now I’ve started coming to the hospital. I’ve been visiting every day for about a month. I bring milk with me. They started putting her to my breast, and she’s improved. Every day she gets better, and now I come twice a day to see her. I didn’t go through any of this with my eldest son. I gave birth and went home. But with this baby, she’s already been in the NICU, and the doctors told me she’ll need at least another month. It’s for her own good. There’s nothing here in Gaza. If she leaves the hospital tomorrow, we don’t even have food at home. No milk is available, and formula is expensive — it costs 80 shekels per can. Life is truly hard. All I hope is for my daughter to be okay, and that we get food and basic supplies so we can raise our children in good health. It’s unfair that things are like this." 4. VETIN'S MOTHER CARRYING BABY/ DOCTOR PUTTING BABY INSIDE INCUBATOR 5. VARIOUS OF VETIN, OTHER BABIES IN INCUBATORS/ BEING FED/ BEING CARED FOR/ CLOSE SHOT OF BABIES 6. DOCTOR WRITING NOTES 7. VARIOUS OF DOCTORS CARING FOR BABIES IN INCUBATORS 8. VARIOUS OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT/ MEDICINE BOTTLES 9. VARIOUS OF BABIES IN INCUBATORSGAZA, PALESTINE - JUNE 27, 2025: The lives of newborns in the Gaza Strip are increasingly at risk as Israel’s closure of all crossings into the besieged enclave, in place since March 2, has caused a severe shortage of baby formula. Medical authorities at Rantisi Hospital in northern Gaza and Nasser Hospital in the south warned on June 19 that formula supplies had completely run out, cautioning that infant deaths could occur within 48 hours if humanitarian aid did not arrive. UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric raised the alarm on June 20, saying the number of malnourished children in Gaza had reached “alarming levels.” He noted that in May alone, about 5,100 children between six months and five years of age were hospitalized due to acute malnutrition. Despite repeated warnings and urgent appeals from local and international actors, two more infants died at Nasser Hospital on Thursday due to the continuing lack of formula. "During the war, we have witnessed a significant increase in premature births, mainly due to severe malnutrition among mothers," said Dr. Nasser Bulbul, Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Al-Helou International Hospital in Gaza City. "This has placed a tremendous burden on the neonatal unit. Due to the urgency of the cases, babies are admitted immediately. The unit has 12 incubators, but the daily need has risen to 17 to 20 cases." He expressed that they face many challenges in the neonatal unit and one of the most pressing is the lack of suitable nutrition for premature infants as they do not have access to specialized preterm formula. "We’ve started asking mothers to bring breast milk, but due to malnutrition, many of them are unable to produce sufficient milk." A mother in Gaza who gave birth to her daughter Vetin Abu Bakr at just 7 months, weighing only 570 grams told Anadolu about how malnutrition is severely affecting both mothers and their babies. "I went into premature labor in the seventh month. My baby girl was born at the start of the seventh month, and her weight was just 570 grams." said the Palestinian woman. "My eldest son was born weighing 3.5 kilograms. Compared to him, this little one… when she was born, they thought she wouldn’t survive. The doctors said she might not make it and that her case was difficult. But thank God — through His will, the doctors’ efforts, and the care in the unit — she survived." The Palestinian mother expressed that having to do difficult house chores like carrying water every day causes premature births. Vetin’s mother also expressed her sorrow about not being able to go to the hospital for nearly a month to see her baby and hold her. She used to pump milk and send it to others. "Now I’ve started coming to the hospital. I’ve been visiting every day for about a month. I bring milk with me." "I didn’t go through any of this with my eldest son. I gave birth and went home. But with this baby, she’s already been in the NICU, and the doctors told me she’ll need at least another month. It’s for her own good." Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. Writing by Ayse Elif Erdis