GAZA, (PIC)
For weeks, the family of the Palestinian Is-haq Na’el Mushtaha continued to make appeals to allow their son to travel abroad for treatment after his health deteriorated due to the lack of appropriate treatment in the Gaza Strip, but his soul departed to his Creator, becoming a new witness to the tragedy of patients in the besieged enclave.
Is-haq Na’el Mushtaha (29 years old) passed away on Saturday after suffering from malnutrition and not being allowed to travel for treatment.
Taleb Mushtaha said that his brother was suffering from symptoms such as colic and abdominal pain before the war on Gaza, and at the beginning of the war, his condition worsened and deteriorated further after undergoing an intestinal operation last May.
He pointed out that 30 cm of his intestines were removed and his weight dropped from 75 to 39 kilograms, and due to the closure of the crossing, Mushtaha’s appeals to travel for treatment went unanswered until he passed away, according to a testimony provided by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
Daily deaths
The Gaza Strip records daily cases of death due to the arbitrary siege imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip, and its continuous prevention of the entry of medical supplies, including medical devices and necessary medicines, after it has systematically and extensively destroyed the health sector over the past ten months.
The Euro-Med Monitor confirmed that it receives dozens of complaints daily from Palestinians in need of traveling or having their relatives travel to receive life-saving treatment outside the Gaza Strip, due to the lack of appropriate treatment or medicines and medical devices, and the majority of hospitals going out of service, due to the siege and Israeli targeting.
Israel has closed the Rafah land crossing with Egypt, which was the only exit during the war for travel to the Gaza Strip, since it redeployed its military forces and stationed there, and destroyed large parts of it on May 7 of last year. This has deprived thousands of injured and sick people from traveling to receive treatment, leading to the death of hundreds of them so far.
The data of the Ministry of Health in Gaza indicates that there are more than 12,000 injured and 14,000 patients in urgent need of external referral to save their lives, confirming that these are part of tens of thousands in dire need of travel in order to complete treatment or receive necessary health and rehabilitation services that are not available in the Gaza Strip.
The Euro-Med Monitor in a statement on Monday, stated that dozens of deaths are recorded daily for patients and the elderly, the majority of whom are due to the absence of medicines or treatment, or the lack of adequate health care, and these are not officially counted among the victims of the ongoing Israeli attack.
It said that the data of the Ministry of Health indicates a significant increase in the mortality rate in the Gaza Strip in recent months compared to the same period in the previous two years, and that there has been an observed relationship between the increase in mortality cases and the exit of hospitals from service and the collapse of the health system as a result of the systematic Israeli targeting.
“Who will save my child?”
The mother of the child Yousef Basil Al-Adham (2.5 years old) from northern Gaza says that her child was injured in a house bombing and came out from under the rubble with cerebral palsy, and now he is suffering from malnutrition and skin lesions.
She added that the doctors tried to treat him and performed several operations, but to no avail due to the destruction of medical capabilities as a result of the Israeli military attack and the lack of appropriate healthcare.
She continues, “My child needs to travel abroad for treatment, so that I can see him sit again at least, as the doctor told me. But despite his referral for treatment abroad, the crossing was closed and this did not happen.”
The suffering of cancer patients
Thousands of cancer patients are facing severe suffering and are threatened with death due to the lack of treatment available and their need to travel to receive chemotherapy doses.
Maysaa Aliyan Kamel Elewa, a cancer patient who did not receive treatment due to the conditions of the war, tells the Euro-Med team: “I have been a cancer patient since 2018. Our lives are difficult during the war, and in addition to the Israeli bombardment, water is a problem for us because of the difficulty in obtaining it. We go to a distant place to get water.”
She adds, “We spent nights under the shelling of airplanes and random artillery shells, and the place behind us was bombed, and we miraculously escaped death and displaced to Khan Yunis without any basic necessities of life, the least of which was water and food. During my displacement, I was without treatment or follow-up, and I was relieving my pain with simple painkillers that had no effect, and the hospitals were far away, and we went on foot without receiving the necessary medical care, given the collapse of the hospitals. Every day I feel that I am getting closer to death.”
Kidney failure
The mother of the child Abdullah Muhammad Akram (9 years old) also recounts the tragedy of her son who needs treatment that is not available in the Gaza Strip, “We were displaced to a school after our house in northern Gaza was bombed. Suddenly, my son became exhausted, and we took him to the only functioning Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, where the health system is collapsing. He was admitted to the intensive care unit for 3 days, and then the doctors diagnosed his condition as kidney failure and his need for dialysis, which I attribute to his reliance on canned food for months and the lack of minerals and vitamins, which are not available due to the lack of fruits, food, treatment and supplements in northern Gaza.”
The increase in diseases and no cure
Saher Nasr, a pediatrician at Kamal Adwan Hospital, confirms that there has been a widespread prevalence of medical cases among children in northern Gaza in recent days due to malnutrition and weakened immunity.
He added, “Due to the war, many skin diseases have spread among children, most of which we had not recorded cases of before, mostly due to bacterial and viral causes, in addition to fungi that affect those with weak immunity.”
He continued, “These diseases are contagious and the cases are increasing due to the overcrowding in shelters, the lack of sanitation, and the contamination of water, in addition to the lack of food and poor nutrition due to the reliance on canned foods that contain preservatives and the absence of proteins in the diet.”
He pointed out that this has caused delays in wound healing and the occurrence of infections, and there is currently no treatment available in the form of ointments or antibiotics. He said, “In the hospital, we are dealing with the symptoms without the ability to treat or control the disease. If the current situation continues as is, the numbers will increase further and we will see more severe cases.”
Mass execution
The Euro-Med Monitor warns that the ongoing siege and closure of crossings, after the Israeli occupation forces destroyed hospitals and health facilities in the Gaza Strip and rendered most of them out of service, means an Israeli decision to carry out a mass execution of the sick and injured, killing them intentionally.
The Euro-Med Monitor states that the destruction of hospitals and facilities, medical transportation, and the prevention of bringing in medicines and medical equipment, as well as the killing and arrest of medical personnel, are at the forefront of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. This is to slowly kill those who were not killed directly in the attacks, by depriving them of necessary treatment and food, and other essential materials for survival.
It emphasizes that the destruction of the health sector is a key pillar of the systematic, organized, and large-scale plan implemented by Israel to destroy the lives of Palestinians in the Strip, eliminate them, and turn their homeland into an unlivable and uninhabitable place, lacking the basic elements of life and essential services, through integrated crimes, the most dangerous of which is the systematic and widespread targeting of the health sector, removing it from service through destruction and siege, rendering it to the point of no return, and depriving Palestinians of any chance of survival, life, and recovery, and even shelter.
