People with chronic diseases in the Gaza Strip live the war and its horrors with double the burden. They suffer from the collapse of the medical system, the interruption of medicine, and an unprecedented change in their lifestyle.
The continued closure of the Rafah crossing – which is currently occupied by Israel following the start of a military operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip – has deepened the suffering of these patients due to their inability to travel for treatment.
In the “Voices from Gaza” segment, Tel Aviv Tribune monitored some of the suffering of those suffering from chronic diseases, as one woman said that she suffers from heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and is unable to walk on her feet.
She added, “Doctors are doing everything they can, but there is nothing medical available in the Gaza Strip, as hospitals are out of service,” expressing her hope that the war will end quickly because cancer patients are dying every day.
In turn, a second patient said that she suffers from cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and osteoporosis, as she was being treated in Egypt and then came to Gaza, after which the war broke out, causing the medication to be cut off in hospitals and pharmacies.
She expressed her hope that the war would end as soon as possible so that the crossings would be opened for treatment abroad.
For her part, one of the mothers showed the suffering of her young child, who suffers from low blood sugar, obstruction in the portal vein of the liver, and an enlarged spleen, in addition to frequent convulsions.
She indicated that she was following up on her child’s condition at Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital in Gaza, where he was receiving treatment regularly, revealing that a scheduled emergency operation had been prevented by the war, in addition to the lack of any possibility of exiting to Egypt after the occupation of the Rafah crossing.
In a related context, the mother of a “wax child” – whose body is always peeling and needs daily bathing and ointments, in addition to problems with closing her eyes – said that her daughter’s condition came about because she inhaled – when she was pregnant – the white phosphorus with which Israel bombed the Gaza Strip in 2014 war.
Ghufran’s mother pointed out that her daughter used to shower three times a day before the war because of the necessity of oiling her body, noting that her body would peel and tear if it dried and then bleed.
In turn, the girl hopes for self-forgiveness by traveling abroad in order to treat her condition, which requires medical follow-up.
It should be noted that the toll of the Israeli war on Gaza has risen to 35,303 martyrs and 79,261 injuries since October 7, 2023, according to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.
Since that date, Israel has launched an unprecedented war on Gaza, leaving more than 114,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and nearly 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
