See Anas Baba’s images at https://www.npr.org/2025/07/27/g-s1-79468/gaza-babies-children-starvation-malnutrition-aid
By Roland Ashby
Images of babies dying from starvation in Gaza have been profoundly disturbing. Pietà is my attempt to both feel and convey the full horror of their, and their mothers’, suffering.
Pietà
His mother had such hopes
as he suckled at her breast,
his body melting into hers
as the spring of life and love
welled up.
But now, his shrunken body
lies limp,
belly bloated,
bones brittle,
bulging through gossamer skin.
Gurgles of delight
silenced
in a slow execution.
Her heart pierced by a sword,
pitiless, indifferent.
Her cries heard the world over;
in Calvary, Auschwitz, Gaza.