JAKARTA - Yousef's six-week-old body is lying on the hospital table in Gaza City, Palestine. His skin stretched over a prominent rib bone and an IV plate that was inserted into his tiny arm.
Doctors say the cause of death was hunger. He was among the 15 people who died from hunger in the past 24 hours in Gaza, according to doctors who said the wave of hunger that had plagued the enclave for months had finally subsided.
The uncle, Adham al-Safadi, said that Yousef's family could not find a formula for him.
"Susu cannot be obtained anywhere, and even if there is a price of 100 US dollars per bottle," he said, looking at his deceased nephew.
Three other Palestinians who died of starvation on the same day were children, including Abdulhamid al-Ghalban (13) who died at a hospital in Khan Younis City, south of Gaza.
For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens of people are now also dying from hunger.
Gaza has been running out of food stocks since Israel cut off all supplies to the region in March, before lifting the blockade in May with new measures it said were necessary to prevent the transfer of aid to militant groups.
At least 101 people are known to have died from starvation during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them died in just the last few weeks.
Israel, which controls all supplies entering Gaza, denies responsibility for food shortages. The Israeli military said it "kicked the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza as very important", and seeks to facilitate the entry of the aid by coordinating with the international community.
On the other hand, Israel blames the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says was stolen by Hamas and other militants. Hamas and militant groups deny this allegation.
When asked for comment, a White House official took sides with Israel's position to blame Hamas. The official said the United States supports the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid organization.
"It's terrible that Hamas continues to target this important aid and hinders GHF's ability to provide life-saving assistance by giving gifts to aid workers, targeting contractors, and disseminating disinformation," the official said.
More than 800 people have died in recent weeks while trying to get food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers stationed near the GHF distribution center.
The United Nations has rejected this system because it is considered unsafe, and is a violation of the principles of humanitarian neutrality needed to ensure the success of distribution. Criticism of the GHF also came from organizations and international aid groups.
Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 aid trucks per day had entered Gaza during the war. The United States says at least 600 trucks per day are needed to feed Gazans.
"Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of gunshot wounds. They cannot provide more assistance for symptoms related to hunger due to food shortages and medicine," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesman for Gaza's Ministry of Health.
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Deqran said about 600,000 people were malnourished, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. The symptoms experienced by those who are starving include dehydration and anemia," he said.
Baby formulas are especially very rare, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation experienced by 2.3 million Palestinians as a "horor show".
"We are witnessing the last breath of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Secretary General Guterres told the UN Security Council.
"The system no longer has a functioning condition," he said.
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