Gaza's hunger crisis is having 'catastrophic' outcomes for mothers and babies

In Gaza, malnourished mothers unable to produce milk are watching their babies starve. Deaths by malnutrition are surging as Israel continues to restrict aid.

Like most babies, Sela Majdi Barbakh liked to laugh. But her smile was weak and faded quickly. At 11 months old, Sela should weigh around 20 pounds, but weighs only 8. Her thin limbs wiggled listlessly, and her small hand could barely grasp the finger of the nurse tending to her.

“She is continuously losing weight,” her mother, Najah Hashem Barbakh, 36, told NBC News’ team on the ground in Gaza. Barbakh said she knew of four other children who had died in the same room in the pediatric ward of Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital. She feared Sela would be next.

Sela is one of thousands of children in the Gaza Strip suffering from acute malnutrition as Israeli authorities continue to restrict the entry of aid, including baby formula. Doctors, aid groups and Palestinians say the long-running hunger crisis has reached a tipping point, with deaths from malnutrition surging.

In the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza recorded nine deaths from malnutrition, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Friday in a statement, bringing the total number of deaths from malnutrition since the start of the war to 122, including 83 children.

At 11 months, Sela Majdi Barbakh should weigh around 20 pounds, but weighs only 8.NBC NewsSela is malnourished and has lost all her muscle and fat, said Dr. Ahmad Al-Fara, head of the hospital’s pediatric department, adding that she suffered from vitamin D and iron deficiencies.