Amman, Jordan – A new BBC report by special correspondent Fergal Keane has delivered a devastating window into the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. The footage, captured by a BBC cameraman injured in a recent Israeli airstrike, shows the impact of war on Gaza’s most vulnerable: its children.
The airstrike hit the car park of the European Hospital in Khan Younis, killing and injuring dozens. The Israeli military claimed the target was a Hamas command post located beneath the hospital. Hamas has denied these allegations. But amid the political statements, the human cost is glaringly visible.
BBC cameramen, risking their lives, filmed the moments after the blast. Among them was a father of a sick child awaiting evacuation, who was wounded in the strike. In the chaos, the BBC journalist was seen trying to console the man’s terrified children.
The Story of Siwar: A Face of Gaza’s Child Hunger Crisis
One story that has broken hearts across the world is that of Siwar Ashour, a five-month-old baby suffering from advanced malnutrition. Siwar’s eyes, large and full of desperation, reflect a life battling starvation. She cannot tolerate normal formula milk and requires a special type that has become nearly impossible to source due to the Israeli blockade.
“Siwar’s story broke something in all of us,” the injured BBC cameraman wrote shortly before the blast. “But I knew her face, her name, and her story had to be seen – had to be heard.”
Her mother, Najwa, sent a heartbreaking video message from Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza: “She is my first child… I’m deeply heartbroken for her.” Siwar now also suffers from a skin infection and a gastrointestinal condition that prevents her from absorbing nutrients properly.
On Tuesday, there was a glimmer of hope. Doctors at a Jordanian Field Hospital managed to locate a small amount of the formula she needs. More is expected, but the battle for her survival continues.
Evacuations and Separation: Families Torn by War
Some families are being allowed to evacuate children to Jordan or the UAE for medical care. Each evacuation is tightly controlled, with Israeli background checks on accompanying parents.
Asma Al-Nashash, whose son Abdelrahman lost a leg in an earlier bombing, now lives in Amman. Her three other children remain in Gaza under their grandmother’s care. In a heartbreaking video call, the children blew kisses to their mother as explosions echoed in the background.
“The rockets are everywhere, firing over our heads,” said their grandmother Najwa. “There is no flour. The prices are very high.” Asma wept silently afterward, saying, “I wish I can return back to find them safe and in good health.”
War’s Toll Through a Mother’s Eyes
The BBC report closes with a haunting thought: only through the eyes of a mother watching her starving children from afar can the world begin to grasp the agony of Gaza’s humanitarian collapse. The camera doesn’t lie. It documents the faces of children like Siwar, crying softly with hunger, and parents shattered by loss.
As international calls for a ceasefire mount, the footage serves as an urgent reminder: this war is being waged not only on battlefields, but in hospital wards, kitchens with empty shelves, and in the eyes of terrified, malnourished children.
