GAZA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- "It was as if my soul had been ripped from my body, and I was left to die forever," said Abeer Abu Yousef, a mother of four, as she described the anguish of sending her child abroad for medical treatment without her.
The 40-year-old Palestinian woman told Xinhua that her son Abdullah has been plagued by kidney failure for a decade. However, Israeli attacks on hospitals in the Gaza Strip have severely limited his access to dialysis treatment, leading to a further deterioration of his health condition.
Abeer finally held on to a glimmer of hope when the Gaza-based health authorities informed her that her child could travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for treatment.
Abdullah was one of 45 patients who were allowed to leave Gaza through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday for medical treatment in the UAE, according to local health officials. They noted the evacuation was coordinated with the World Health Organization.
However, seeking medical treatment abroad came with increasingly extensive security checks imposed by Israeli authorities amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Although uninvolved in "any political or military activities," Abeer failed to get permission to travel with her son after a security check. Left with no other option, she sent her 13-year-old daughter to attend Abdullah abroad.
"My daughter is young and doesn't know what her brother needs, and I feel sorry for her because she has to take responsibility for her brother, but we have no other choice … I'm afraid for both, and I hope they find someone to care for them," she said.
The heartbreaking predicament was shared by Kamla Abu Kwaik, another mother who was forced to let her child, Fayez, travel alone for treatment of his blood cancer.
"The Israeli authorities have rejected more than once requests from me and my husband to accompany our son abroad for treatment, so his grandmother traveled with him," the 39-year-old mother of four told Xinhua.
"I do not know how to spend the period when Fayez will be receiving treatment away from me," she said in a choked voice. "Life has no color, and food has no taste, and I am counting the days waiting for my son to return to my arms."
Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive in Gaza in retaliation for a rampage by Hamas militants through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 taken hostage.
The offensive has caused widespread destruction in its wake, posing significant danger to tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza, especially children and patients.
According to a statement by the Gaza-based health authorities on Monday, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 45,854, with injuries reaching 109,139.
Ismail Thawabta, head of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, told Xinhua that 35,060 Gaza children now live without their parents or one of them.
There are more than 28,000 sick and injured, including children, who need treatment abroad due to the lack of medicines in the enclave, according to Mohammed Zaqout, director general of hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
"Patients face the real risk of death due to the collapse of the health sector as a result of the direct targeting of hospitals and medical centers by the Israeli army, which has led to massive destruction of most of them," Zaqout warned.■