Gaza- In November 2023, Muhammad Nabhan spent 17 days without dialysis, as a result of the Israeli invasion of Gaza City and the storming of Al-Shifa Hospital, which put him at risk of death.
At that time, Nabhan (33 years old), who had been suffering from kidney failure since 2012, decided to flee to the central Gaza Strip governorate to receive dialysis sessions at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Nabhan lived in the street and in the corridors of Al-Shifa Hospital for about 3 months. Being near the hospital was a matter of life or death for him, until he got a tent inside a shelter center close to the hospital.
To this day, Nabhan lives near the hospital to receive dialysis sessions, but his health condition has deteriorated greatly.
Over the past months, the hospital administration was forced to reduce dialysis sessions for patients, in order to be able to provide service to large numbers of displaced patients from the north and south of the Gaza Strip.
Nabhan also suffers greatly from the quality of food available that he gets from the “hospice” of the shelter center, which is mostly limited to legumes, tomato sauce, and canned food, stressing that it is harmful to patients with kidney failure.
There is no cure for cancer patients
Before the war, Etidal Albas (60 years old), who has been suffering from colon cancer since 2015, underwent periodic examinations every 3 months at the Palestinian-Turkish Friendship Hospital for cancer patients, in addition to receiving a set of necessary vitamins.
But since the beginning of the war 15 months ago, she has not undergone any tests and has not received any treatment for her illness.
In the war, Israel destroyed the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital located south of Gaza City, in addition to dozens of medical centers and hospitals.
Since the beginning of the war, cancer patients have not been provided with the necessary treatment, and most of them are waiting to travel for treatment abroad.
The loss of examinations and treatment led to the deterioration of Idal’s psychological state, she says. She feels very concerned about her health, especially since she is forced to eat unhealthy foods, especially canned food.
Heart and diabetes without treatment and care
Like other people with chronic diseases, Aisha Al-Borai (65 years old) is waiting for the war to end, to resume receiving care for heart disease, which she has been suffering from for 11 years.
Aisha suffered from an enlarged heart, in addition to a dangerous dilatation of the coronary artery.
Because of the war, she has not had any tests or visited a doctor for the past 15 months.
Malnutrition and a harsh psychological state led to Aisha’s weight falling from 83 kilograms to only 54.
As for Adnan Hassouna (65 years old), he suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, and his wife Samira suffers from kidney failure.
Adnan says that diabetic patients face a major dilemma, which is relying on diet to treat it, which is impossible as most of the food that Israel allows to enter consists of starches such as bread and legumes.
He adds that the lack of treatment and malnutrition caused him to suffer from a common diabetes complication, which is numbness in the feet.
Next to him, his wife complains of kidney failure and says that she left her children in Gaza City and migrated to Deir al-Balah to provide dialysis service at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Dima and Amir…a tragedy of a different kind
Dima Jadallah (14 years old) and her brother Amir (5 years old) suffer from a different type of chronic disease, which is paralysis caused by muscular atrophy.
The two brothers need a special healthy environment, due to their weak immunity, in addition to intensive physical therapy, nutrition, and special medications.
But their father, Ayman, found himself in a terrifying situation after being forced to repeatedly move from one place to another in order to save his family from the Israeli war of annihilation.
The two children, Dima and Amir, sleep on the floor of the tent made of sand covered with a piece of nylon, which causes them to suffer from ulcers and skin diseases.
There are many aspects of Ayman’s suffering with his two children, starting with the absence of physical therapy sessions, passing through his inability to buy “diapers” and replace them with cloth, and the absence of healthy nutrition and treatment, and not ending with the problem of the shared toilet with many families.
The war caused the psychological state of the two children to deteriorate due to the sounds of explosions, and they often became frightened, which led to “bedwetting.”
Ayman concluded his speech by saying, “The two boys relapsed. After the war, I will start with them from below zero again.”
The reality of chronic diseases in the northern Gaza Strip
The tragedy of those suffering from chronic diseases in the northern Gaza Strip (Gaza City and the Northern Governorate) appears to be much greater than in the central and southern regions, as a result of the occupation’s concentration of its aggression there.
Dr. Ola Al-Najjar, Director of the Chronic Diseases Department at the Ministry of Health in the northern Gaza Strip, pointed out that the occupation destroyed 8 “primary care” centers specialized in treating chronic diseases out of 14.
She explained – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that this matter greatly weakened the quality of service provided to patients, and pointed to an increase in the incidence of complications of chronic diseases, such as brain clots, heart and kidney problems.
She also explained that malnutrition as a result of Israeli starvation exacerbates chronic disease conditions.
She touched on the deteriorating conditions of psychiatric patients, after Israel destroyed the only hospital that served them, stressing that there is no entity currently caring for this category.
She also pointed out that there is no cancer doctor available in the northern Gaza Strip.
350 thousand patients
Dr. Khalil Al-Dakran, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, reveals that the number of people with chronic diseases in the Gaza Strip reaches about 350,000 people.
He told Al Jazeera Net that the occupation army deprives them of medical service by preventing the access of medicines and closing hospitals and primary care centers, which has caused the death of large numbers of them.
He pointed out that the stock of medicines decreased by 75%, while about 80% of life-saving medicines ran out.
He stated that the occupation destroyed 82 health centers out of 90, and put 72 hospitals out of service in all areas of the Strip.
He said that the Ministry of Health’s ability to conduct medical analyzes for people with chronic diseases is very limited, due to the lack of laboratory supplies.
He touched on the suffering of cancer patients in particular, saying that their number is about 12,500 patients, including 2,500 children, who do not receive the necessary health services, after about 90% of their treatment ran out.