... GAZA STRIP, PALESTINE - JULY 25, 2025: Another Palestinian infant died Friday at the Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip, after her frail body succumbed to hunger, a medical source told Anadolu.

She was left to face famine without milk under Israel’s suffocating blockade.

The source said Zeinab Abu Halib, just a few months old, died from malnutrition resulting from Israel’s starvation policy.

Zeinab appeared in a disturbing photo taken shortly before her death, with her skin clinging to her bones, her tiny ribcage painfully protruding.

Behind her was an earlier image showing her smiling in bright clothing that was captioned, “Zeinab the Queen,” a heartbreaking contrast that captures the tragic transformation from joyful infancy to emaciation and death.

Such deaths are recurring in Gaza, particularly for infants, due to the Israeli siege and the prevention of humanitarian, food, and medical aid, leading to widespread hunger and severe shortages.

Gaza’s Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Munir al-Bursh, told Anadolu on Friday that nine Palestinians, including two children, died within 24 hours due to hunger and malnutrition. It brings the number of malnutrition deaths since the start of the genocidal war on Oct. 7, 2023, to 122, including 83 children.

The Ministry of Health reported 26,677 registered cases of malnutrition on Thursday, and noted more than 260,000 children under the age of 5 are in urgent need of food.

UN agencies and local organizations warn that the continued blockade and obstruction of aid could lead to mass child deaths, amid worsening health and living conditions and the total collapse of the medical system.

Last Sunday, the Gaza Government Media Office warned that the territory is on the brink of “mass death” after more than 140 days of closed border crossings.

Since March 2, Israel has backtracked on implementing a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas and has kept Gaza’s crossings shut, leaving hundreds of aid trucks stranded at the borders.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since late 2023, killing more than 59,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Deaths by starvation have climbed in recent days due to a months-long blockade and poor distribution of aid by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

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.