Palestinians in Gaza desperate to travel abroad for life-saving treatment

Khan Younis and Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine –  In a tiny flat successful Khan Younis, surrounded by a war-torn scenery arsenic acold arsenic the eyes tin see, Abeer al-Awady counts the minutes until the much-anticipated ceasefire.

Her girl Hanaa’s beingness depends connected it.

The 15-year-old lets retired a piercing outcry whenever Abeer lifts the broad shielding her face. Even the faintest glimmer of airy triggers excruciating symptom successful the teenager’s sensitive, swollen eyes, leaving Abeer with nary prime but to heed her daughter’s agonised pleas to beryllium covered again.

Beneath the broad lies a look marked by the relentless toll of cancer. A reddish wide protrudes from her near eye, her caput appears shrunken, and her frail arms hardly move. Her weakened dependable and changeless cries archer of the symptom she’s endured since her diagnosis 3 months ago.

Abeer prays that the Rafah crossing, which Gaza shares with Egypt and has been sealed unopen by Israel since its crushed cognition successful the southernmost portion of the enclave successful May, opens arsenic soon arsenic the ceasefire comes into effect aboriginal Sunday. “I don’t cognize however overmuch longer Hanaa volition survive,” she said.

For thousands of wounded Palestinians successful Gaza and patients similar Hanaa, the ceasefire agreed to by the Israeli furniture connected Saturday aft overmuch governmental tension, is much than a diplomatic milestone; it’s a substance of survival. The Rafah crossing is expected to unfastened arsenic portion of the deal, allowing Palestinians successful Gaza to permission for aesculapian treatment.

The territory’s healthcare assemblage has been ravaged by the war, depleting it of quality resources, instrumentality and infrastructure, and aesculapian unit who person braved Israeli attacks and are near with small to connection their patients.

“There is thing that Gaza’s healthcare sector could connection these captious conditions: nary medication, nary specialists, nary operations oregon procedures, nary due equipment,” Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya, manager of al-Shifa Medical Complex and caput of the Department of Treatment Abroad, told Al Jazeera, adding that for galore the lone accidental of endurance is attraction abroad.

The ceasefire is acceptable to easiness the exit of Gaza Palestinians successful request of aesculapian attraction done the Rafah borderline crossing. “The details of wherever patients volition spell for attraction are inactive not clear. The 5,300 Gazans who near for attraction since October 2023 went to Arab and European nations, arsenic good arsenic the US. It is inactive not wide the countries to which these cases volition go,” noted Abu Salmiya.

Hanaa’s assemblage has been taken implicit by cancer. Left without immoderate attraction for 3 months, the ceasefire is her lone anticipation for surviving it [Mohamed Solaimane/Al Jazeera]

Death sentence

For Abeer, who besides has 2 sons, the Rafah crossing is their family’s lone anticipation to clasp onto her Hanaa. “Hanaa diagnosis’ felt similar a decease condemnation for our family,” said Abeer, her dependable breaking arsenic tears streamed down her face. “But to ticker her information worsen daily, with thing that we oregon anyone successful Gaza tin offer, is different level of torment.”

The family’s ordeal began erstwhile Hanaa’s eyes swelled, prompting a sojourn to an oculus doc who referred her instantly to Nasser Hospital successful Khan Younis. There, tests confirmed the devastating news: Hanaa had cancer, with aggregate tumours successful her head.

Abeer recounted however her once-energetic daughter, contempt being calved with cerebral atrophy and having a code impairment, had thrived with crisp hearing, wide vision, and a zest for life. But since her diagnosis, Hanaa has mislaid her show completely, and her proceeding is rapidly deteriorating. A monolithic tumour successful her pharynx has besides meant she’s incapable to eat, and she present relies connected a feeding conduit connected to her stomach.

For 3 months, Hanaa has received nary crab attraction owed to the deficiency of aesculapian supplies successful Gaza. “All she gets are painkillers to assistance her sleep,” Abeer said. “If it weren’t for this warfare and the blockade, Hanaa could person started attraction and recovered. Instead, her information has worsened, robbing her of her senses and leaving her motionless.”

Patients dying each day

According to Abu Salmiya, determination are 20,000 patients and wounded Palestinians successful Gaza successful request of treatment, of whom 12,000 are successful dire conditions. “Nearly 6,000 radical wounded by the warfare request urgent attraction successful facilities abroad. These see astir 4,000 amputees, and much than 2,000 cases sustaining superior injuries to their backbone and their spinal cord, resulting successful crippling and paralysis,” helium said.

In a code delivered astatine a United Nations Security Council gathering connected January 3, Dr Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) typical for the West Bank and Gaza, said much than a 4th of the 105,000 civilians injured during the 15-month Israeli pounding of Gaza look “life-changing injuries”. Describing hospitals arsenic “battlegrounds”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk quoted WHO figures of 654 attacks connected healthcare facilities, starring to 886 deaths and 1,349 injuries.

According to the organisation, much than 1,000 healthcare workers person been killed since October 2023, adding further strain to an overstretched healthcare system, successful which lone 16 retired of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially operational, and arsenic fewer arsenic 1,800 beds are available.

“We’re losing patients with conditions that we could’ve easy handled if not for the war. We’ve mislaid astir 25 percent of our dialysis patients. Infants with bosom conditions are dying connected a regular ground successful incubators due to the fact that we cannot run connected them. As galore arsenic 20 patients of curable illnesses dice each time successful beforehand of helpless staff,” noted Abu Salmiya.

For those captious conditions, exiting the territory has been “a tedious and futile process”, particularly since the closure of the Rafah crossing, added the official. “Israel’s restrictions astatine the Karem Abu Salem [Kerem Shalom] borderline crossing [between Gaza and Israel] meant galore weren’t allowed to permission though they were fixed the greenish airy to. For instance, infants would beryllium fixed support to go, but without their mothers,” helium explained. Only 490 aesculapian conditions were allowed to permission the territories since May. “Out of 12,000 captious conditions, 490 is nothing,” commented Abu Salmiya.

According to Abu Salmiya, a ceasefire indispensable beryllium accompanied by an influx of resources and an easiness of departure for patients going out. “We urgently request integrative and pain surgeons, bony restoration consultants, arsenic good arsenic consultants successful neurosurgery, vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, thoracic surgery, maxillofacial country and cardiac surgery,” helium said.

He besides called connected the WHO, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to “ensure the harmless and timely departure of aesculapian cases to beryllium hospitalised astir the world, bearing successful caput that astir person mislaid their question documents amidst the warfare and displacement,” pleaded the official.

Raghd al-Farra was fixed support to permission Gaza for attraction successful September, but hasn’t been allowed to permission [Mohamed Solaimane/Al Jazeera]

Desperate hopes successful Nasser Hospital

At Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital, 14-year-old Raghd al-Farra lies successful a infirmary bed, hardly capable to speak. Her imagination of surviving her injuries and surviving a mean beingness depends connected receiving attraction extracurricular Gaza.

Raghd was critically injured connected July 22, 2024, erstwhile an Israeli aerial onslaught deed her family’s home. “The symptom ne'er ends,” she said, her words dilatory and strained. Raghd has spent astir of the past six months successful the hospital, moving betwixt departments for nerve, bone, and abdominal care.

Her mother, Shadia al-Farra, recounted the time their location was bombed. Shadia and 3 of her daughters, including Raghd, were connected the precocious floor, portion her hubby and their youngest kid were downstairs. “The walls collapsed astir us,” she said. The onslaught besides destroyed a neighbouring home, sidesplitting its occupants.

Raghd’s injuries were severe. Doctors diagnosed her with 2 spinal fractures, analyzable fractures successful her close leg, and monolithic interior bleeding. She underwent exigency country to region her spleen and parts of her lungs, but her information remains critical. “She inactive has terrible fibrosis and different abdominal complications that necessitate attraction unavailable successful Gaza,” her parent said.

In precocious August, doctors astatine Nasser Hospital prepared a record for Raghd’s transportation abroad, submitting it to Israeli authorities done WHO successful mid-September. However, nary support has been granted, and Raghd’s information continues to decline. She struggles to breathe, move, oregon eat, and precocious had her tonsils removed to code further complications.

Shadia fears her daughter’s clip is moving out. “If Rafah doesn’t unfastened soon, Raghd won’t survive. Her beingness depends connected specialised attraction that Gaza cannot provide,” she said.

The stakes are precocious for patients and their families, who person endured immense suffering during the 15-month war. “Our children are dying successful beforehand of our eyes,” Shadia said. “We are powerless due to the fact that our aesculapian strategy is overwhelmed. The ceasefire and Rafah’s reopening are our lone hope.”

This portion was published successful collaboration with Egab.