16 October 2024
Five-year-old Mohammed lives in northern Gaza with his mother, Sondos, his father and his sister. He has a rare metabolic disorder called lactic acidosis, a condition which causes spasms, weakness and digestive issues, and can be life-threatening if left untreated. Mohammed requires specialised care, proper nutrition and consistent medication.
But since Israel’s military offensive on Gaza began more than a year ago, and its systematic dismantling of the healthcare system, it is almost impossible for Mohammed to receive the care he needs. His health has now declined rapidly. He has begun to experience seizures, losing his ability to walk or even sit up. His weight has dropped from 16kg to 11kg over two months, and his condition indicates severe malnutrition with additional complications.
Before October 2023, Mohammed was receiving the medication he needed and undergoing physical therapy, which helped him maintain a healthy weight. His mother recalled those days with a heavy heart: “Before the war escalated, Mohammed was receiving the care he needed. He was doing better, gaining weight, and was more active. But since the outbreak of the war, I’m witnessing my son’s life turning into a daily nightmare. The war made access to treatment and medication more difficult.”
The family has been displaced from their home and forced to move multiple times in northern Gaza, each displacement further isolating them from the essential resources Mohammed has needed to manage his condition. “When we were first displaced, Mohammed’s health took a turn for the worse, as we had no access to the necessary medications or adequate food,” said Sondos.
Mohammed’s diet, which required ground food prepared with electricity and boiled water, became nearly impossible to maintain under the circumstances. He is now limited to eating canned food, which is not adequate for someone with his condition, despite his mother’s attempts to find the right food for him.
The interruption of essential medications such as Dantrelax has also made treatment increasingly difficult. The absence of food and essential healthcare has left Mohammed’s health in a precarious state.
Sondos described the challenges they face: “Since the beginning of the war, we have been living in a state of constant fear. I cannot control my fear of losing my child at any moment. Mohammed needs continuous treatment, special medications, and a specific diet, but all of these things are no longer available to us. Imagine, as a mother, I see my son deteriorating before my eyes, and I can’t do anything about it. Even the semolina and dates that I used to rely on are no longer available. My son has become emaciated, and I fear losing him at any moment.”
Every day, Sondos goes to Kamal Adwan Hospital and Sheikh Radwan Clinic, hoping to find some way to help her son. “I make sure to follow up on his condition closely, because any simple health problem could lead to serious complications,” she said. The fear of losing her son haunts her daily, and she holds onto the hope that there will be a ceasefire, allowing her to provide the care Mohammed so desperately needs.
Mohammed’s situation is not unique. Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza and at least 34 children have died from severe malnutrition. Around 50,000 children under five years old urgently require treatment for malnutrition by the end of the year. Diseases are also rampant, compromising women and children’s nutrition and immunity, and leading to a surge in acute malnutrition.
In northern Gaza, more than 8,000 children have been diagnosed and treated for acute malnutrition, including 1,600 children with the most dangerous form of the condition, according to the World Health Organisation.
In August, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) launched a nutrition programme to protect more than 150,000 women, children, and others at risk of malnutrition, through frontline health services, nutrition screening, and prevention. Over the next six months, we aim to screen more than 41,000 people for malnutrition, including post-surgery patients, to ensure they are referred for treatment as early as possible and to meet their nutritional needs during recovery.
Haitham Saqqa, MAP’s Programme Officer who works on our nutrition programme, emphasised the severity of Gaza’s hunger crisis: “The steep rise in malnutrition that we are seeing in Gaza is dangerous and entirely preventable. Children and women need continuous access to healthy foods, clean water, and health and nutritious services. For that to happen, we need an immediate ceasefire that allows for complete humanitarian access, and additional entry points for aid to enter Gaza.”
The lack of safe drinking water and the insufficiency of water for cooking and hygiene are compounding the issue of poor nutrition. Israel’s systematic destruction of water facilities and deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid have resulted in an average of 4.74 litres of water a day per person – just under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies and less than a single toilet flush. The severe shortages of safe water exacerbates the already dire nutritional situation and poses an existential threat to the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Behind each harrowing data point is a child like Mohammed and a terrified mother like Sondos. Their suffering is the cost of inaction from states like the UK to uphold international law, press Israel to end barriers to effective aid delivery in Gaza, and enforce an immediate and permanent ceasefire. As an occupying power, it is Israel’s responsibility to ensure the occupied population of Gaza, including more than one million children, can access the healthcare they need.
Sondos’ plea is a powerful reminder of the human cost of Israel’s war on Palestinians, and acts that UN human rights experts and the International Court of Justice have concluded may plausibly amount to genocide: “I just want to see my son healthy again. I want to provide him with the care he needs and deserves. No mother should have to watch their child suffer like this.”
Editor’s note: This story was gathered before the Israeli military issued new mass forced displacement orders in northern Gaza on 7 October.
Photo: Mohammed with his mother receiving care. (Credit Haneen Maher Salem).