After arriving emaciated from southern Gaza to a children's hospital in Naples a few weeks ago, the little girl has started to recover.
Weighing only four kilograms, the girl was in "a serious and challenging clinical condition" upon arrival, according to doctor Daniele de Brasi. Now, with a weight of over five kilograms, she is still far under normal weight, but on the right track, writes AP.
We are very pleased with her development, says de Brasi to the news agency.
"From tent to tent"
Shamm has been malnourished her whole life. She was born just weeks before the terrorist-stamped Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
The family has since then moved around in war-torn Gaza in search of functioning care.
It got worse due to the lack of food, treatment, and opportunities. We have been displaced maybe around 15 times, from tent to tent, says mother Islam Qudeih to AP.
Shamm is one of 181 children from Gaza who are receiving care in Italy.
The doctors there are treating her severe malnutrition, which is exacerbated by a genetic metabolic disease, with a special carbohydrate-rich porridge. Food intake is increased gradually.
In these cases, too rapid growth can cause problems, says de Brasi.
20,000 dead
Nearly 12,000 toddlers suffered from acute malnutrition in July in Gaza, according to the UN's compilation. The World Health Organization estimates that it is an underestimate.
At least 20,000 children have now been killed since the outbreak of the war, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled authorities in Gaza, writes Save the Children in a press release. This means that on average, at least one child is killed every hour.
