Niveen was evacuated in Jordan for medical care, but now he has been postponed to Gaza.
In an improvised tent in the Al-Shati Refugee Field in the north of 33-year-old Enas Abu Daqqa, he holds his daughter Niveen in his arms. A fan works constantly behind her to relieve the heat in the morning.
ENAS fears that Niveen’s health can worsen at any time. She is only seven months old and was born during the war with a hole in her heart.
While her mother explains how she fought to keep her alive in the midst of the collapse of the Gaza health system, Niveen, with her big brown eyes and small body, she cries and agitated.
“The war was very difficult for her,” says Enas at the BBC. “He wasn’t gaining weight and tired very easily.”
Niveen’s only chance of survival was to receive an urgent service outside Gaza. And at the beginning of March, Jordan made it possible.
With the ceased the fire between Hamas and Israel in force, 29 sick children of Gaza, including Niveen, were evacuated in Jordan to receive treatments in hospitals in the country. Her mother and older sister were brought with her.
They were the first children evacuated for Jordan after King Abdullah announced, during a visit to the United States the previous month, he plans to face 2,000 sick children of Gaza in the Giordani hospitals.
These evacuations have been coordinated with the Israeli authorities, who perform checks prior to their parents who travel with their children.
The doctors in Jordan successfully performed an open heart surgery in Niveen and was slowly starting to recover.
But about two weeks after the start of the treatment of children, the ceased fire in Gaza collapsed when Israel resumed his offensive against Hamas and the war resumed in full vigor.
For weeks, Enas accompanied the news of his daughter’s hospital room in Jordan, worried about the safety of her husband and other children who were still in the Palestinian territory.
And then, late at night on May 12, the Jordan authorities told Enas that they would send him, together with his family, again in Gaza the following day, as they said that Niveen had completed his treatment.
Enas was shocked.
“We broke up there when there was a fire. How can you send us back after the war is taken up?” He says frustrated.
Enas returned to Gaza, together with her husband and children. They say that Niveen has not completed the treatment before being postponed and fear that their state can worsen.
“My daughter is in a bad state that can lead her to death,” says Enas. “He has heart problems. Sometimes he suffocates and becomes blue. He can’t continue living in a tent.”
On May 13, Jordan announced that he had returned 17 children to Gaza “after completing the treatment”. And the next day, a new group of four sick children was evacuated by Gaza in Jordan.
The Jordan authorities referred to the BBC that all the postponed children were in good medical condition, rejecting the accusations of not completing the treatment.
The authorities observed that the kingdom of Jordan clarified from the beginning their intention to postpone children when they improved, adding that this was necessary “for logistical and political reasons”.
“The policy of Jordan is to keep the Palestinians on their land and not contribute to their move out of their territory,” said a declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to the BBC. The return of 17 children would also allow to evacuate multiple children sick from Gaza, he added.
But an employee of the Ministry of Health managed by Hamas in Gaza told the BBC that children still need care and that their return to war puts their lives at risk.
Forced to return
This is exactly what Nihaya Bassel worries, 30.
His son, Mohammed, just over a year, suffers from asthma and serious food allergies. He believes that his son has not received the complete treatment he needed.
“We live again with fear and hungry, surrounded by death,” says Nihaya with tears. “How can I give this child the milk he needs to drink? He does not eat, even having just over a year, because if he eats, he will get sick immediately.”
Israel has imposed a hard siege of the Gaza Strip 11 weeks ago, cutting all the supply, including food, medicine, accommodation and fuel. Israel said that this and the resumption of the offensive aimed to press Hamas to release the hostages still held in Gaza.
International organizations warn that the Palestinians who live there are “hunger critical risk”.
On Monday Israel announced that it would allow a “minimum” quantity of food in Gaza after the pressure of the United States. The United Nations reported the arrival of five trucks with humanitarian help, including food food, but ranked this as “a drop in the ocean” in the face of what is necessary.
Nihaya now lives in a small area of ​​curtains in the Al-Shati field with her brother-in-law’s family. Her husband and three other children fled from other parts of northern Gaza, escaping the heavy Israeli attacks when the war resumed while he was in Jordan.
“I left my children here. I left my husband here. They crossed hell while I was out,” says Nihaya in tears.
“My mind and my heart were constantly with them in Gaza while I was in Jordan. All this so that my son could be treated. Why force me to return before finishing the treatment?”
As he speaks, the sounds of Israeli surveillance drones drowned his voice. The young son runs next to him.
He tries to contain his anger as he reports his return journey to Gaza.
“We just left [Ã s] 4h and we only arrived in Gaza at 22:45, “he says. Upon arrival on the border, Nihaya says they were harassed by the Israeli security forces.
“They started cursing. They threatened to hit us. They took all our money. They took our cell phones, our bags and everything else,” he says, observing that they confiscated all the bags of those who had money in nature.
Enas said that the same thing happened to her, observing that her medical supplies were also confiscated.
The Israeli army informed the BBC to confiscate “not wrapped money, overcoming the normal borders” of the residents of Gaza who returned from Jordan because of the suspicions that would be “used for terrorism in Gaza”. The source added that the money is maintained while the circumstances are studied.
No reason was given that other personal objects have been confiscated.
Nihaya says she returned from Jordan “with empty hands”; Even his son’s medical records were in the bags that took Israeli security forces, he says.
Jordan claims to have given children such as Niveen and Mohammed the best possible medical care, and both families recognize it.
But they fear that life in one of the most fatal war zones for the children in the world can cancel all the progress that their children have made in the last two months.
“I took my son and I was very happy to see him like this,” says Nihaya in tears. “Now I want to bring him back to grade? I don’t want my son to die.”
Edited by Alexandra Foucé
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
