In a makeshift refugee camp in the border town of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, the Ataya family is gathered under a tarp. Like millions of other Palestinians, they have been displaced from their homes. It is 35 degrees outside. Inside the tent, which is furnished with a plastic base and mattresses, it is even warmer. ON THE RUN: A month and a half ago, the youngest member of the Abu Ataya family died of illness and malnutrition. Photo: Hatam Omer / news Journalists news collaborates with in Gaza meet the family of six. Father Mohammed, mother Tahrir, and their four daughters. Little brother Fayez is gone. He lost them in May. HAPPY: The family has given news this photo of Fayez, from when he was healthy. Photo: Privat / news Now they watch videos of the brother on dad’s mobile phone. – Fayez, my darling. It’s me, Noha, a girl’s voice can be heard saying in the video. Sister Noha stands smiling by her little brother’s hospital bed and tries to get in touch with him. In the video you can see Fayez. He struggles to breathe, and has a probe in his nose. But he looks at his older sister with wide eyes, while waving his thin arms. TIKTOK/@user8651324296586 Went from hospital to hospital It is the father who tells Fayez’s story. news warns against strong images further in the case. When the family’s neighborhood in the center of the Gaza Strip was bombed by Israeli warplanes, Fayez, who was four months old at the time, inhaled the dust from the explosion, according to Mohammed. – This was the first time I saw Fayez suffer. He developed a very violent cough that could last anywhere from five minutes to several hours. For several weeks the little boy suffered with breathing difficulties. Mohammed went from hospital to hospital, but was turned away because they prioritized the many war-wounded who entered the doors, he says. Finally, Fayez got help. – The doctors who examined him said he had a lump near his lungs. It cut off Fayez’s oxygen supply and made it difficult for him to breathe. The doctors performed a surgical procedure and removed the lump, according to Mohammed. IN HOSPITAL: Fayez was operated on, but sent home the following day. He got an infection in the wound. Photo: Privat / news But the boy was sent out of the hospital the day after the operation because the flow of injured was so great. He later got an infection in the wound, says the father. In addition, Mohammed struggled to find food for his family and his wife Tahrir, who was nursing the sick Fayez. – I looked everywhere. I couldn’t find milk, vegetables, potatoes, carrots or other nutritious food that we could eat, says the 32-year-old. – I couldn’t feed my family. DID NOT FIND FOOD: Mohammed Abu Ataya was unable to find enough food for his family. 50,000 children in Gaza are malnourished, according to Unicef. Photo: Hatam Omer / news Death in his father’s arms After many weeks of illness and lack of food, Fayez is gradually getting thinner and thinner. When he was born he weighed a healthy 3.5 kilos. At six months old, the scale shows 1.5 kilos, according to the father. SICK: The family have shared this photo of Fayez, which shows him getting thinner and thinner. Photo: Privat / news Fayez has become so malnourished and weak that his little body finally gives up. Mohammed’s only son dies in his arms in one of Gaza’s hospitals. The pictures of the emaciated and starving boy are being spread on social media. WERE SPREAD: The pictures of the emaciated and starving boy were spread on social media. Photo: Privat / news – My son could have been saved. If only he got the treatment and food he needed, says the father, gritting his teeth. Several thousand treated for acute malnutrition According to Unicef, 50,000 children in Gaza suffer from malnutrition. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported earlier in June that over 8,000 children under the age of five have been treated for acute malnutrition since the war began. 28 of them died. According to WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus, there are only two clinics in operation in the Gaza Strip where severely malnourished children can receive treatment. – We have major challenges in getting emergency aid to children and families, says Unicef spokesman James Elder to news from Gaza. – A few days ago, our shipment of food and medicine to 10,000 children in northern Gaza was stopped by Israeli soldiers at a roadblock. We were unable to deliver the aid due to an alleged error in our paperwork, says Elder. Two months ago, nurse anesthetist Renald Menard was in Gaza working for Doctors Without Borders. He says that children between six months and five years are most exposed to malnutrition. – The reason for that is that they have fewer reserves to consume, and must have nutritious food to be able to build their bodies, both physically and mentally. If they don’t get it, it will go the other way, like with Fayez, says Menard. Nurse anesthetist Renald Menard was recently in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders Photo: Christian Breidlid / news The nurse anesthetist says that most of the malnourished children in Gaza will survive if they get help early enough and have not developed complications, such as diarrhea or anaemia. – They will have slower development mentally and physically. If they are deficient in vitamin A, it can affect their vision and make them blind, but in most cases they will survive. – But we must also remember that it is a strain on their mental health, in addition to their body, says Menard. – I want to go A month and a half has passed since Fayez passed away. The mother Tahrir is still deeply affected. The 26-year-old looks tired and exhausted. The eyelids seem heavy to hold up. The war has not only taken Fayez from her, but large parts of her family. – When the war broke out, I lost my father, brothers, uncles, cousins. And now I have lost my only son, says Tahrir. She strokes her daughter Maria’s hair while turning her face away from the camera. FEATURED: Mother Tahrir Abu Ataya with two of her children. Photo: Hatam Omer / news She tries to hold back the crying, but it presses on. – I want to leave Gaza. I want out of Gaza, says Tahrir as tears roll down her cheeks. The man Mohammed despairs of his life situation. – I am not a terrorist. I’m just trying to protect my family. They are my responsibility. I just want my girls to live a dignified life. I would so like to take them out of Gaza. Published 20.06.2024, at 21.36 Updated 20.06.2024, at 21.56
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For Fayez, help did not come in time – news Urix – Foreign affairs news and documentaries
