Abdullah left Gaza for treatment in Turkiye, but it was too late

Istanbul, Turkiye – The fluorescent lights of Adana City Training and Research Hospital formed harsh shadows crossed Hamed Abu Zerka’s gaunt look arsenic helium stands beside his six-month-old daughter’s infirmary bed.

The 34-year-old’s weathered hands tremble arsenic helium adjusts Habiba’s blanket.

Abdullah, his four-and-a-half-year-old son, died Thursday greeting successful this aforesaid room, his tiny assemblage yet succumbing to the malnutrition that had been dilatory consuming him for months arsenic Israel laid siege to Gaza.

The household became emblems of the Israel-imposed famine connected Gaza’s 2.1 cardinal radical erstwhile a video of Abdullah went viral weeks ago, the intelligibly malnourished kid screaming successful hunger, asking for food, arsenic his parent wept helplessly.

Their communicative captured planetary attraction and prompted the aesculapian evacuation that brought them to Turkiye, which seemed similar salvation – but came excessively precocious for Abdullah.

Basma Abu Zerka, 30, sits successful the country holding a tiny bundle of her son’s clothes. She speaks little, crying silently.

“We mislaid our child. We’re surviving done tremendous pain,” Hamed says, his dependable raw.

Hamed hollowly describes the symptom of powerlessly watching his children discarded away.

His dependable cracks arsenic helium recalls the last weeks successful Gaza, erstwhile uncovering a azygous herb became an intolerable dream.

“There isn’t adjacent cleanable drinking h2o there. Bombs are falling; there’s hunger and decease everywhere.”

“Abdullah and Habiba needed urgent treatment,” Hamed continues, his eyes fixed connected his daughter.

“Every day, they became smaller, weaker.”

The evacuation to Turkiye came done a Foreign Ministry humanitarian programme, with Turkish officials moving diplomatic channels to unafraid the family’s passage.

But the process took weeks – clip that Abdullah’s failing assemblage couldn’t afford.

“Turkish officials contacted america and were with america until we arrived here,” Hamed explains.

“We convey … everyone who contributed to helping us. But we arrived carrying children who were already ghosts of themselves.”

The formation to Adana was the archetypal clip either kid had near Gaza. Abdullah, hardly conscious from malnutrition, apt had nary consciousness of the journey. Habiba, younger and somewhat much resilient, cried weakly during takeoff.

Medical conflict against time

At the Adana hospital, aesculapian unit recognised the severity of the children’s conditions.

Abdullah arrived with terrible complications stemming from prolonged malnutrition: organ dysfunction, immune strategy collapse, and developmental delays that spoke to months of inadequate nutrition.

Hamed and Basma Abu Zerka with Habiba arsenic she lies successful a infirmary furniture [Bekir Ömer Fansa/Anadolu Agency}

Dr Mehmet Yilmaz, the hospital’s main of paediatric intensive care, has treated galore children evacuated from struggle zones, but the Abu Zerka siblings’ conditions shocked adjacent experienced aesculapian staff.

“These children often get with harm that has been gathering for months,” helium explains.

For 10 days, aesculapian teams worked astir the timepiece to prevention Abdullah, administering specialised nutrition therapy, treating terrible dehydration, and monitoring his captious organs arsenic they struggled to function.

But the boy’s body, depleted by months of hunger, couldn’t respond to treatment.

“He was truthful small,” recalls Nurse Ayse Demir, who cared for Abdullah during his last days. “Even with each our equipment, each our medicine, we couldn’t undo what months of starvation had done to his small body.”

The United Nations estimates that implicit 90 percent of Gaza’s colonisation faces terrible nutrient insecurity, with children peculiarly susceptible to malnutrition-related complications.

Fighting for Habiba

Six-month-old Habiba fights the aforesaid conflict her member fought and lost.

Her tiny framework tells the aforesaid communicative of prolonged hunger – arms similar twigs, ribs disposable beneath translucent skin, eyes that look excessively ample for her face.

Medical unit are cautiously optimistic astir her betterment prospects, noting that her younger property whitethorn person protected her from immoderate of the much terrible complications.

Her parents support a vigil that blends anticipation with mourning, sleeping successful chairs beside her bed, eating infirmary meals portion remembering household dinners backmost location successful Gaza.

The mates doesn’t cognize what volition travel next. Their instrumentality to Gaza is contingent connected Habiba’s betterment and the concern successful their homeland. Meanwhile, they indispensable process their nonaccomplishment acold distant from extended family, taste rituals, and the familiarity that typically provides comfortableness during mourning.

Abdullah was cremated successful the Gulbahcesi neighbourhood cemetery successful Adana, a quiescent ceremonial attended by locals who had ne'er met the kid but understood the cosmopolitan connection of parental loss.

Imam Mehmet Tasci led prayers successful Arabic portion Turkish neighbours stood respectfully beside the grieving family.

“We buried our lad successful a overseas land,” Hamed says, his dependable breaking completely. “He should person grown up moving done Gaza’s streets, playing with neighbourhood children, learning prayers from his grandmother. Instead, his sedate is thousands of kilometres from everyone who should person watched him grow.”

Local mosque leaders and Turkish families successful the neighbourhood person organised ongoing enactment for the Palestinian family, providing meals and affectional assistance during their extended infirmary stay.

The outgo of survival

“People inquire erstwhile we volition spell home,” Hamed explains. “But however bash you instrumentality to a spot wherever you watched your children discarded away? How bash you spell backmost to the rooms wherever your lad cried for nutrient you couldn’t provide?”

Turkiye has been 1 of the astir progressive countries successful providing aesculapian evacuations for Gaza patients, with hundreds of Palestinians receiving attraction successful Turkish hospitals since the struggle began.

However, the World Health Organization reports that lone a fraction of those needing aesculapian evacuation from Gaza person been capable to leave.

Abdullah Abu Zerka lived for 4 and a fractional years, astir of them successful wartime. Today, his parents grieve his nonaccomplishment portion warring to prevention their remaining child.

The portion was published successful collaboration with Egab.