The last baby girl to die of starvation in the Gaza Strip weighed less than she did at birth.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A mother gave one last kiss to what was left of her 5-month-old daughter and cried. Esraa Abu Halib's baby weighed less than she had at birth.

On a sun-drenched street in the devastated enclave, the bundle containing Zainab Abu Halib represented the latest death from starvation after 21 months of war and Israeli aid restrictions.

The baby was taken to Nasser Hospital's pediatric department on Friday. She was already dead. A morgue worker carefully removed her Mickey Mouse-print T-shirt, slipping it over her sunken, wide-open eyes. He lifted the hems of her pants to reveal her knobby knees. His thumb was wider than her ankle. He could count the bones in her chest.

The baby girl weighed more than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) when she was born, her mother said. When she died, she weighed less than 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds).

A doctor said it was a case of "severe starvation."

She was wrapped in a white burial sheet and placed on the sandy ground for prayers. The bundle was barely wider than the imam's posture. He raised his open hands and invoked Allah once more.

Needed special formula

Zainab was one of 85 children who died from malnutrition-related causes in Gaza in the past three weeks, according to the latest tally released by the territory's Health Ministry on Saturday. Another 42 adults died from malnutrition-related causes in the same period, she said.

"She needed a special baby formula that didn't exist in Gaza," Zainab's father, Ahmed Abu Halib, told The Associated Press as he prepared for funeral prayers in the hospital courtyard in the southern city of Khan Younis.

Dr. Ahmed al-Farah, head of the pediatrics department, said the girl needed a special type of formula that helps babies allergic to cow's milk.

She noted that she hadn't suffered from any illness, but the lack of formula led to chronic diarrhea and vomiting. She couldn't swallow as her weakened immune system led to a bacterial infection and sepsis, and she quickly lost more weight.

"There will be more"

The girl's family, like many Palestinians in Gaza, is living in a tent after being displaced from their home. Her mother, who has also suffered from malnutrition, said she breastfed the girl for only six weeks until she tried formula-feeding her.

"With my daughter's death, there will be more," she noted. "Their names are on a list that no one looks at. They are just names and numbers. We are just numbers. Our children, whom we carried for nine months and then gave birth to, have become just numbers." Her loose robe concealed her own weight loss.

The arrival of children suffering from malnutrition has increased in recent weeks, al-Farah said. Her department, with a capacity of eight beds, has been treating around 60 cases of severe malnutrition. They have placed additional mattresses on the floor.

Another malnutrition clinic, affiliated with the hospital, receives an average of 40 cases per week, he said.

"Unless the crossings are opened and food and baby formula are allowed in for this vulnerable segment of Palestinian society, we will witness unprecedented numbers of deaths," he warned.

Doctors and aid workers in Gaza blame Israel's restrictions on the entry of aid and medical supplies. Food security experts warn of famine in the territory of more than two million people.

"Shortage of everything"

After the last ceasefire ended in March, Israel completely cut off food, medicine, fuel, and other supplies to Gaza for two and a half months, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages.

Under international pressure, Israel slightly eased the blockade in May. Since then, it has allowed the entry of around 4,000 trucks for distribution by the UN and other aid groups, including 2,000 tons of baby food and special high-calorie foods for children, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said last week. Israel says infant formula, in addition to formula for special needs, has been included.

The average of 69 trucks per day, however, is far below the 500 to 600 trucks per day the UN says are needed for Gaza. The UN says it has been unable to distribute much of the aid because hungry crowds and gangs take most of it from the trucks upon arrival.

Separately, Israel has supported the US-registered Gaza Humanitarian Fund, which opened four centers in May distributing food supply boxes. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to obtain food, mostly near these new aid sites, the UN human rights office says.

Much of Gaza's population now relies on aid.

"There was a shortage of everything," Zainab's mother said, weeping. "How can a child like her recover?"