Three-year-old Amr al-Hams lies silently in a Gaza hospital bed, fighting for his life after shrapnel pierced his brain during an Israeli airstrike. The attack killed his pregnant mother, siblings, and grandfather, leaving his father shattered by grief and unable to speak. Amr, recently moved out of intensive care, cannot talk or move, and his frail body twists in pain due to lack of proper treatment.
His aunt Nour, now his primary caregiver, stays beside him at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, comforting him and feeding him by syringe. The blockade has deprived Gaza’s hospitals of vital supplies like oxygen, IV nutrition, and fortified milk. As a result, Amr has lost nearly half his body weight. “There is nothing left,” said Nour, a trained nurse. “We are living in starvation.”
The broader war has devastated Gaza’s health system, with nearly half of its 36 hospitals out of service. Continuous bombings and military raids have overwhelmed remaining facilities, destroyed critical equipment, and forced doctors to flee or work without basic tools. Only a small trickle of aid has entered since mid-May, following more than two months of total blockade.
Amr’s suffering began during a visit to his grandparents in northern Gaza. A missile struck their tent as the family ate dinner, instantly killing five relatives. Amr was rushed to the ICU with severe brain damage and placed on a breathing tube. Israeli forces soon attacked the hospital, forcing staff to evacuate patients under extreme conditions.
Without ambulances or medical escort, Amr’s aunt and father transported him in a motorized rickshaw to a southern hospital 25 kilometers away. Along the way, Amr’s oxygen levels dropped dangerously. “We were reading the Quran all the way, praying he would survive,” said Nour. An ambulance finally met them halfway and brought him to Nasser Hospital in critical condition.
Thousands of injured children in Gaza, like Amr, await urgent medical evacuation. The World Health Organization reports that over 10,000 patients — including 2,500 children — are on waiting lists to leave Gaza for treatment. But until safe passage and full hospital services are restored, many, like Amr, face a battle they may not survive.