In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the so-called “Pink Hospital” has become the final sanctuary for infants suffering from severe malnutrition — a place where tiny lives fade away, one after another.
The Final Stronghold Amid Crisis
The “Pink Hospital” — a name that might once have promised hope and childhood joy — now hides a grim reality. Inside the Nasser Medical Complex, Dr. Ahmed al-Ghada and his team have admitted 53 infants with acute malnutrition in just one week. Their frail images shake the conscience of anyone who sees them.
A Baby Reduced to Skin and Bone
Wateen Naeem Abu Amounah, just two months and eighteen days old, arrived in her mother’s cold arms, breathing her last. What remained of her was skin stretched over fragile bones, and eyes staring blankly into nothing. Her mother handed her to Dr. al-Ghada, then collapsed against the pink-painted wall — walls decorated with smiling children who no longer reflect the reality within.
Beautiful Names, Empty of Strength
Dr. al-Ghada laid Wateen beside Maria Suhaib Radwan, a ten-month-old girl. “None of these children were sick before the war,” he says. “Wateen was born healthy, at a normal weight, but now there’s not a single muscle left in her body. She’s at the stage where death is only moments away. Even the fat in her cheeks is gone.”
White Sheets That May Become Shrouds
Each infant lies on a white sheet — sheets that may soon serve as burial shrouds. Severe shortages of medicine, food, and especially infant formula have left doctors and nurses powerless. Wateen’s mother clasps the hand of Maria’s mother; the gesture offers comfort, but no hope. Wateen lets out a faint whimper — then falls silent.
Farewells in the Pink Hospital
When the list of infant deaths arrives, Dr. al-Ghada’s voice breaks. The cause of death for five-month-old Zainab Abu Haleeb — severe malnutrition and blood infection — is recorded as mothers stand in silence. Zainab’s tiny body is carried from the hospital in her father’s arms.
One of Only Four Shelters Left
Today, the Pink Hospital is one of just four facilities still caring for newborns in Gaza. As the crisis deepens, more infants arrive in critical condition. The Gaza Health Ministry reports 154 deaths from malnutrition so far — 89 of them children.
A Mother’s Desperation
Zina Radwan lifts Maria from her bed to clean her. “See? She doesn’t move. Even when I call her name… Maria… Maria…” The baby burns with fever, and the thin plastic diaper barely contains the diarrhea. Here, diapers are harder to find than formula.
When Mothers Have Nothing Left to Give
Mothers themselves are starving, surviving on occasional bread and sips of poor-quality water. When they try to nurse their babies, blood-tinged fluid comes instead of milk — a sight that tears the heart apart.
A Vein That Holds the Heart
Wateen’s name means “the vein from which the heart hangs.” Each night, her mother presses her lifeless body to her chest, fearing the moment that vein might be cut — and wondering how she could go on living if it is.
From: fars