Siwar Ashour, a one-year-old Palestinian girl evacuated from Gaza with severe nutritional problems, is back in hospital in the territory after being returned from a medical treatment in Jordan. Siwar was repatriated on December 3 after spending six months in a hospital in Amman under a medical evacuation program supervised by the Jordanian government.
Her health deteriorated shortly after returning home, with symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting, according to her grandmother, Sahar Ashour. She started having diarrhoea and vomiting and her situation keeps getting worse. The diarrhoea won't go away, Sahar reported to a BBC correspondent.
Siwar is currently receiving treatment at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza. Dr. Khalil al-Daqran indicated that Siwar has a gastrointestinal infection and an immune system deficiency complicating her recovery, requiring specialized baby formula that is currently in very short supply.
Faced with a surge in child patients and deteriorating hospital conditions due to weeks of conflict, Dr. al-Daqran emphasized the increased demand for medical care in Gaza's hospitals, which are grappling with severe shortages in supplies and healthcare professionals.
The difficulties for Siwar's family compound further; after being provided with a small supply of specialized formula in Jordan, most of it was confiscated at the border by Israeli authorities upon their return. Her mother, Najwa Ashour, expressed frustration over the restrictions, stating, Even though it is therapeutic milk and they said that treatment is allowed, yet they took them.
The family is attempting to facilitate Siwar’s evacuation once more but faces uncertainties amid ongoing healthcare challenges in Gaza. The World Health Organization has called for more humanitarian efforts and medical evacuations, highlighting the dire conditions many patients are enduring in the region.
