Diabetic children in Gaza: Battle for life amidst war, famine
On a cold floor in a corner of a shelter center in Gaza City, 10-year-old Adam sits leaning against the wall, holding his arm where a needle prick has left a small red mark. He whispers, as if fearing the pain itself might hear him: “I used to take insulin at home, and my mom would prepare suitable food, but now… there’s no home, no food, and sometimes I feel dizzy and fear I might sleep and not wake up.”
Adam’s father was a fisherman before the war swallowed his boat and livelihood. Today, he faces a greater battle than hunger and poverty: preserving his child’s life. “Even if we find insulin, we can’t store it. The electricity is cut off, medicine prices are skyrocketing, and my son needs special food… We barely find bread,” he tells the Saba news agency, his eyes constantly monitoring Adam with worry.
On the other side of the city, 9-year-old Sarah clings to her mother’s hand, trying to draw a faint smile: “I love playing with my friends, but my body is weak and always tired. Sometimes I ask my mom for an apple, and she says there’s none.” Her mother, fearing her daughter’s collapse at any moment, says in a trembling voice: “Diabetes in children requires precise care… and now there’s no suitable food, no medicine, and not even clean water.”
In a hospital besieged by crises, nurse Maisara Muhammad describes the medical scene as “grim”: “Insulin needs to be stored at a low temperature, which is almost impossible with the electricity outage. The war has caused a famine, and a healthy diet has become a dream. If medicine doesn’t arrive immediately, we’ll witness uncountable deaths.”
But the story doesn’t end with Adam and Sarah. The Gaza Ministry of Health reveals shocking numbers: 47% of essential medicines are completely missing, 65% of medical supplies are unavailable, and over half of primary care medicines for diabetes, hypertension, heart, and kidney failure patients have disappeared from shelves, forcing patients to use alternatives that may be closer to delayed danger.
In another world, children’s concerns might be playing or passing exams. In Gaza, children like Adam and Sarah calculate insulin doses and pray that their sugar levels don’t betray them in the middle of the night. Adam’s wish is simple: “I want to live… just live.” As for Sarah, all she wishes for is an apple, without fear. Small wishes… but in Gaza, even these dreams have become too big to come true.