Shamm Qudeih, 2, a starving child recovering in Italy

Two-year-old Shamm Qudeih looked like she was near death from starvation when Associated Press freelance journalist Mariam Dagga photographed her at Nasser Hospital on August 9. She was skin and bones, wincing as her mother held her.

A few days later, Shamm was evacuated to Italy. In a photo published September 6, she looks like she’s recovering, although still very thin. Samma suffers from a genetic metabolic illness that interferes with her body’s ability to absorb nutrients. She needed a high-carbohydrate diet, which she is getting in the Italian hospital.

Shamm weighed nine pounds when she arrived in Italy. Now she weighs 12 pounds, still only half of the median weight for a child her age. 

Samma’s 10-year-old sister, Judi, and her mother, Islam, were evacuated to Italy with Shamm. Judi also arrived severely undernourished and now is gaining weight. Her father is still in Gaza.

Meanwhile Dagga, the photographer, was killed by an Israeli tank at Nasser Hospital on August 25 along with four other journalists.

More at Associated Press