Eight-year-old Muhammad Fasfous spends his days inside a tent that offers little protection from Gaza’s harsh weather, while an illness affecting his liver and kidneys continues to take its toll on his small body. The condition has caused severe swelling in his abdomen, leaving him in constant pain and his family living with the fear that his health could deteriorate further.
Muhammad and his family are sheltering in a tent in the port area of Gaza City, where living conditions are extremely difficult. Rising temperatures and a lack of basic necessities are making his situation even more challenging. His condition requires regular medical care and specialist follow-up, but the family says the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system has made that nearly impossible.
According to his family, Muhammad’s illness was first diagnosed at the beginning of the war. But repeated displacement, difficulties travelling between locations and the breakdown of healthcare services prevented him from receiving consistent treatment. His condition has since worsened.
His mother, Kholoud Fasfous, says doctors discovered that Muhammad had an enlarged liver and enlarged kidneys, resulting in significant swelling of his abdomen. However, the family’s repeated displacement and the dangers and difficulties of movement meant he could not access the medical care he needed.
Speaking to The New Arab, Kholoud said her son urgently needs specialized healthcare. Yet he is living in a tent at Gaza’s port, exposed to the extreme summer heat and the cold of winter, with the family struggling to provide even the most basic care for a child whose condition requires continuous medical monitoring.
Kholoud is appealing to authorities and humanitarian organisations inside and outside Gaza to intervene and help save her son’s life. She says his condition cannot take further delays, and that every day without treatment increases the risk of serious deterioration.
For the family, obtaining a medical referral that would allow Muhammad to leave Gaza for treatment has become an urgent necessity. Gaza’s healthcare system has been severely damaged, while hospitals lack many of the medicines, equipment and specialist services required to treat complex conditions.
The family also says the process for obtaining medical referrals is unclear. Some patients receive permission to leave, while others with equally urgent or even more serious conditions remain waiting. For children like Muhammad, a medical referral could mean the difference between receiving potentially life-saving treatment and reaching a point where their condition becomes much harder to treat.
Muhammad has already undergone surgery to remove a hernia and enlarged tissue that had been affecting his breathing.
But the family soon faced another medical dilemma: doctors disagreed over whether it was safe for him to undergo anaesthesia given his underlying condition. Some doctors warned that anaesthesia was unsuitable, while others believed it could be administered without significantly affecting his health.
His case comes as Gaza’s healthcare system continues to struggle under immense pressure. Hospitals face shortages of medicines, medical supplies, staff and equipment, while thousands of patients require specialist treatment that is unavailable within the Strip.
Muhammad is far from alone. Thousands of children across Gaza are living with illnesses and war-related injuries, many of whom have been unable to leave the Strip for treatment. Some patients have reportedly been waiting for months even after obtaining medical referrals, as Israel continues to complicate the process of leaving Gaza.
According to Muhammad’s family, only around 20 patients are currently allowed to leave for medical treatment each day, three days a week. This leaves large numbers of patients waiting, despite the fact that many of their conditions cannot safely tolerate prolonged delays.
For Muhammad, this is not simply a matter of waiting for a travel date. It is a chance to receive the specialized treatment and care that could save his life.
As his illness progresses, his family remains trapped between a deteriorating health system and life in a tent that cannot adequately protect him from the elements while his condition continues to worsen.