Children with kidney failure at Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital are fighting for their lives. They undergo dialysis sessions under harsh conditions and a severe shortage of medical supplies, a result of the destruction inflicted on hospitals by the Israeli occupation army during the war of extermination and the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.

Inside the dialysis room, exhausted children lie on beds, connected to dialysis machines that drain toxins from their tender bodies to compensate for the loss of kidney function. Their features appear pale, their eyes anticipating the end of the three-hour operation, punctuated by physical pain.

Near her baby's bed, a mother sits holding his tiny hand, whispering a prayer to calm her pounding heart, while a nurse presses the machine's buttons to begin the four-hour procedure.

In another corner, another child stares at the ceiling with vacant eyes, as if he is far older than his few years, due to the intense pain and suffering he is experiencing in this hospital, which has become a permanent place for the battle for survival.

Vital section

Dr. Jamil Suleiman, director of Al-Rantisi Hospital, says that this department is one of the vital departments providing specialized services to children among public hospitals, as it is the only one providing medical care to children under the age of 14 with kidney disease in the northern Gaza Strip.

He explained that the department has resumed operations after a hiatus of more than a year, and has begun accommodating sick children in need of this vital care, with a capacity of six machines out of the 14 that served the hospital before the war of genocide.

Suleiman points out, in data published by the Ministry of Health on its Facebook page, that 45 children with kidney failure were visiting the hospital three times a week to receive services. “However, with the partial destruction of the department caused by the war, services were temporarily halted, resulting in the deaths of many children due to a lack of medical sessions and necessary equipment, in addition to the difficulty of transporting patients to other locations due to Israeli incursions and ongoing shelling.”

The hospital director explained that the department currently receives only 12 children in two shifts, noting that efforts are underway to renovate the department's other hall to increase the number of patients receiving services to 24. Meanwhile, some children who were receiving treatment before the war have been transferred abroad to reduce health risks.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nabil Ayyad, head of the kidney department at Al-Rantisi Hospital, says the department is facing a severe shortage of basic medical supplies, especially pediatric catheters, which are essential for dialysis sessions.

According to the specialist doctor, the hospital also suffers from a severe shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies, which further exacerbates the suffering of the children and their families.

Eid called on international health institutions to provide urgent support to the health system in the Gaza Strip to help it overcome this ongoing ordeal.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army, with US support, has destroyed 34 of the 38 hospitals, including both government and private hospitals, leaving only four hospitals operating at limited capacity despite their damage, amid a severe shortage of medicines and medical equipment, according to the latest statistics from the Government Media Office in Gaza.

The war also completely put 80 health centers out of service, in addition to destroying 162 other medical facilities.

The crime of siege

In turn, Salama Maarouf, head of the government media office in Gaza, said: "The occupation's crime of besieging the Gaza Strip and preventing the arrival of all kinds of aid, including fuel, continues."

He added in a recent post on the X platform that this blockade has resulted in hospitals and health centers completely shutting down operations, threatening the lives of thousands of patients and wounded.

He also pointed out that this situation is causing the suspension of municipal services, ambulance services, and civil defense operations, in addition to disrupting sewage treatment plants, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The occupation authorities halted the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip last Sunday, amid local and human rights warnings of disastrous consequences for vulnerable groups such as women and children.

Israeli media reported that the occupation government intends to begin implementing an escalation plan against Gaza within a week, including cutting off electricity and water, carrying out assassinations, relocating Palestinians from the north of the Strip to the south, and resuming the war.