The tragic truth about the effects of war
The hunger becomes catastrophic. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that at least 57 children have died of the consequences of malnutrition since the beginning of the war.
Janat, Janas Baby Notor, was one of those, as her family reported.
Although Janat was born and only 2.6 kilograms weighed, her mother Aya had said to CNN that the baby grew and increased in weight. She became a healthy baby that weighed about 4 kilograms. She learned to smile and was attentive.
But things changed when Janat was six weeks old.
On March 2, Israel imposed the complete blockade on Gaza, which prevented even the most fundamental supply goods, including baby food and medication, to get into the area.
shattering fates
aya explained that she had problems breastfeeding Janat when food became scarce and the baby began to lose weight. Janat developed a chronic diarrhea, was dehydrated and soon it was so bad that she needed medical help.
"(in the hospital) they said that there were special medical milk that would help her to gain weight and stop the diarrhea - but we could not find it. We were looking for Gaza, hospital for hospital, pharmacy for pharmacy. Even the Ministry of Health told us that it was not available," Aya told
A video from Janat from the middle of April shows the little baby, wrapped in the arms of Aya. Her tiny face is only from bones under the skin, and she looks more like a newborn than a four -month -old baby. Her thin, long fingers protrude from the ceiling and she looks sleepy. Her big brown eyes are the only part of her exhausted body that moves while her gaze follows the people who move around them.
At the same time, Janat's mother also had to fight, weakened by the lack of food and clean water. Like many new mothers in Gaza under these conditions, she lost her milk and could no longer feed her baby. The UN-supported hunger report found that almost 11,000 pregnant women in Gaza are threatened with starvation and almost 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in the coming months urgently need to be treated.
Janat continued to deteriorate. Her mother reported CNN that the baby had difficulty maintaining her body temperature, and the doctors said that her blood sugar level was dangerously low. Their oxygen values fell. The malnutrition led to their kidneys and liver no longer working properly, and their blood became angry.
"I borrowed the whole world to save it. I just wanted someone to save them to get the milk that they needed. But nobody could help. Everyone just watched Janat's mother.
Janat's mother said CNN that the doctors had recommended medical evacuation abroad in the hospital. The family even managed to procure the necessary documents, including a recommendation and approval for Janat to leave the country.
tragic ends
But the baby died on May 4th before that was possible. At only four months, they only weighed 2.8 kilograms, hardly more than at birth.
Medical evacuations from Gaza are extremely rare, and this has been intensified since the restart of military operations after the collapse of the ceasefire in March.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced last week that around 12,000 patients in Gaza need medical evacuation and only 123 people have been evacuated since the beginning of hostility in March.
Following the publication of this report, Israel announced coordination office for government matters in the areas (cogat) that "almost 800 patients who have been dependent on medical treatments outside of the Gaza Strip" have been evacuated since March, including during the ceasefire that ended on March 18th.
When Jana leafed through the photos of Janat the day after the baby's death, she was torn and applied. "They told us that they could not be treated unless they travel abroad. We waited, they kept saying 'Saturday' and 'Sunday', and we were waiting for them until they died," said Jana.
a life in constant emergency
After 18 months of war, every aspect of Jana's life is shaped by need.
It has too little food and water, no school and no safe place to sleep. There is no electricity, and the place she calls her home is a half-destroyed house in Gaza City. His walls are charred in black.
Jana used to live in a house where the water came from a tap and light could be switched on with one click. There was food, there was a school and there was a dance performance in which she and her friends were the focus while wearing suitable outfits and all of them.
A family video from this event looks like any other who was taken up by proud parents of a child that appears. It is a bit fluctuating and zooming on Jana as she hangs around.
In the middle of the destruction, surrounded by bombarded houses and piles of rubble, the film material looks like from another universe.
"I don't have anyone anymore. I feel like I'm dead," said the 12-year-old to CNN while the tears ran over her face. "I'm emotionally dead."
a desperate everyday life
Jana's big family was greatly decimated by the war. She has lost a brother, a brother -in -law, a cousin and a niece and feared to lose her mother, who is suffering from thyroid cancer that cannot currently be treated in Gaza.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in the past 18 months, which corresponds to around 4 % of the population of the strip. This means that one of every 40 people who lived in Gaza before the war is now dead.
But there is little time to mourn if survival is so difficult.
food in the need
on May 12th, one day before CNN Jana finally met, she managed to find food: 500 grams pasta for 50 Schekel ($ 15).
How many families in Gaza grinded the pasta to flour to make bread in an attempt to make it durable longer. Gaza has long since escaped without flour.
The next day, when a nearby community kitchen received food, a large amount of hungry children gathered in a few minutes.
They watched every movement of the workers and waited for the moment when the food was ready.
It is clear that there is not enough for everyone, so that the children fight for the best place, extend their hands to get their pot as close as possible to the front, and desperately try to attract the attention of those who distribute the meals. Some scream and cry.
Jana is lucky. Two portions of pasta with aqueous tomato sauce land in their bucket. She looks exhausted and hungry but happy.
While she goes home with the steaming meal, she doesn't touch it. Only when she arrives at home, where her hungry siblings, nieces and nephews are waiting, does she allow herself to enjoy it and share it with them.
