In the Gaza Strip, the hopes of Lama Abu Reida to save her infant daughter Alma were dashed by a decision from the Israeli authorities. The five-month-old baby suffers from a lung cyst and cannot breathe without an oxygen machine. Her family was preparing for a medical evacuation to Jordan on March 1, but the closure of the Rafah crossing on February 28 “for security reasons” thwarted these plans.

Abu Reida states with a choked voice: “They told me the crossing was closed without warning because of the war.” Alma has been at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for over three months, where the necessary surgery is unavailable due to limited medical resources in Gaza. Doctors emphasize that her life depends on an operation abroad.

The severe consequences of the closure have already impacted other families. Hadeel Zorob lost her six-year-old son Sohaib and eight-year-old daughter Lana, who suffered from a rare genetic disease and were awaiting travel for treatment abroad. Zorob, breaking down in tears, declares: “The closure of the crossings killed my children!”

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 20,000 patients and wounded individuals are waiting to travel abroad for treatment, including about 4,000 cancer patients and 4,500 children. The Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights has labeled the Rafah closure a “collective punishment,” warning it deepens the humanitarian crisis and sentences more patients to death.

Amal al-Talouli, a 43-year-old breast cancer patient, also faces desperate circumstances. Having lost her home during the war, she cannot access specialized treatment due to the crossing shutdown and medication shortages. “There is a shortage of everything, medicines are not entering,” she says, hoping for the crossing to reopen for a chance at recovery with her children.

Source: www.aljazeera.com