In Gaza, countless young lives continue to hang in the balance as hospitals struggle to function amid devastation. At Nasser Hospital, two 10-year-old boys lie in separate wards—one paralyzed from the neck down by an Israeli bullet, the other suffering from a brain tumour. Both urgently need care beyond Gaza’s borders, yet evacuation remains stalled.
The World Health Organization estimates that over 15,000 patients in Gaza are in critical need of medical evacuation. But with hospitals crippled after two years of relentless war, the chances for survival grow slimmer each day.
Ola Abu Said gently strokes her son Amar’s hair. He was inside their tent in southern Gaza when a stray bullet from an Israeli drone struck him, leaving him paralyzed. “He needs surgery urgently,” Ola pleads. “But doctors say it’s too risky here—it could cause death or brain damage. He needs proper equipment and specialists.”
Nearby, 10-year-old Ahmed al-Jadd lies weak beside his sister Shahd. Once a cheerful boy who sold water to support his displaced family, he now battles a brain tumour. “We already lost our father, our home, and our dreams,” Shahd says tearfully. “We can’t lose him too. The ceasefire gave us a bit of hope—just a small chance that Ahmed could travel and be treated.”
Doctors say many could be saved if medical routes reopened. “Hundreds of patients could be treated in a short time,” says Dr Fadi Atrash of Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem. “We can handle chemotherapy, radiation, and surgeries. We’ve treated Gazans for years—same language, same culture, even their medical files are here.”
Yet Israel’s defence body, Cogat, says the decision lies with political authorities. Since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks, Israel has blocked Gazan patients from entering the West Bank and East Jerusalem, citing security concerns.
The Hamas-run health ministry reports that between August 2024 and August 2025, at least 740 people—including nearly 140 children—died while waiting for evacuation.
At Nasser Hospital, Dr Ahmed al-Farra voices deep frustration. “It’s painful to diagnose conditions we can’t treat. Every day, lives are lost because we lack the tools to save them.”
Last week alone, Gaza buried more children—Saadi Abu Taha, 8, who succumbed to intestinal cancer; and three-year-old Zain Tafesh and eight-year-old Luay Dweik, both victims of hepatitis.
Without swift action, many more Gaza children will die waiting for help that never comes.