My family is large and Palestinian. We are eight brothers and sisters, and we are all from a large family. Our family grew even bigger as my older siblings started getting married and having kids. Our family’s room would be filled with children’s laughter every weekend.
My married sisters would visit us with their children on Thursday, and I used to wait patiently for that day. My mother would be busy making her daughters’ favorite dishes, my father would be out shopping, and I would play with the kids. I have nine nieces and nephews total, and each of them is lovely to play with and cuddle me. Because a family without children is like a tree without leaves, they are my family’s treasure.
My sisters and brothers made the best effort to provide for their children and give them the best chance to study and pursue their dreams despite the challenging occupation and siege of Gaza.
The genocide then began. The constant displacement, hunger, and constant bombing.
Although I don’t have any own children, my sisters experience agonizing pain when they hear their children’s cries.
“I can no longer bear it,” I said. I’m sick of thinking about filling my kids’ empty stomachs. What can I do to prepare?” recently shared by my sister Samah.
Abdulaziz is the mother of seven children: Tasneem, 3, Sondos, 17, Raghad, 15, Ali, 11, and Mahmoud and Lana, 8, respectively. They have lost most of their belongings due to the number of times they have been displaced, just like the majority of other Palestinian families. The walls of their home in the Shujayea neighborhood were completely destroyed when they last saw it, but the roof remained attached to the pillars. Bulldozed, with olive and lemon trees, the plot of land in front of their home.
Since Samah’s family first started the war, they have relied on canned food. Since Israel halted aid in early March and stopped distribution, they have been unable to locate canned beans or chickpeas. They are fortunate to find a loaf of bread or a bowl of lentil soup at this point.
Samah has watched her children struggle, losing weight, and becoming ill day after day.
The most painful situation is Lana. She is 110cm (3 feet 7 inches), but weighs just 13kg (28.7 pounds). Her parents took her to a clinic where severe malnutrition was found to be her. She was enrolled in a program that distributed nutritional supplements, but she hasn’t yet received anything. None are present.
In the event that they are suddenly forced to flee, Lana’s yellow body is so weak that she is unable to stand for extended periods of time or walk. She only wants to sleep and sit incessantly with her brother. She used to be a bright, energetic girl who used to play with her siblings constantly, and I can’t believe what has happened to her.
Samah’s worst worry is that she could lose her daughter because of the news about children dying from malnutrition.
Samah refuses to let Mohammed travel to one of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution points despite having to struggle to feed her family. She is aware that this is a fatal trap. He might not even be able to get a package of food, but she wouldn’t risk his life for it.
My other sister, Asma, gave birth to Wateen, her second child amid the starvation. She is now two months old, and she has jaundice as a result of a lack of nutrition. Wateen is the only image I can find. When she was born, she weighed two and a half kilograms (5. 5 pounds). In all of her photos, she appeared sleepy and yellow.
The doctors claimed that because she herself is undernourished, her mother, who is breastfeeding, is unable to provide her with the nutrients she requires. Because Israel has been preventing Gaza from receiving all baby formula, Watineen needs to be fed with highly saturated formula milk, which is unavailable.
Asmaa is now concerned that Wateen’s mother is unable to give her nutritious milk, leading to her developing malnutrition. “I’m melting, like a candle!” What will come to an end to this suffering? she recently told me.
When I talk to my sisters about their suffering and the hunger that are ravaging their children, my heart is tearing apart.
Since committing the genocide, the Israeli occupation forces have already killed more than 18, 000 children. 1.1 million people still live in total. Israel wants to ensure that no one has a future.
This is a war strategy, not a tragic outcome of war.
Malnutrition is more than just a significant weight loss. The liver, kidneys, and stomach, which are essential internal organs in the body, are affected by this devastating condition. It has an impact on children’s growth and development, leading to a higher prevalence of disease, learning difficulties, cognitive impairment, and psychological issues.
The occupier has one goal: creating a fragile generation, weak in mind and constitution, unable to think, and with no other options besides searching for food, drink, and shelter by starving Palestinian children and denying them access to education and health care. This leaves a generation without the ability to fight the occupier and defend their land. a generation that is unable to comprehend the people’s existential struggle.
Israeli officials have publicly stated the war plan, and the objectives have been made clear. Will the rest of the world permit Israel to systematically destroy the children of Gaza?
Source: Aljazeera
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