Dying alone in Gaza in need of dialysis
From the Holy Family parish in Gaza comes the story of Hani Abu Daoud who died because no hospital could treat his condition, deprived even of the possibility of returning to northern Gaza to spend his last days with his loved ones. His is one of the many mad stories behind the call for a ceasefire in what has already become Israel's longest war since 1948.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – Negotiations for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas are progressing amid glimmers of hope and words of rejection.
The war that broke out with the terror attacks of 7 October is now in its 120th day today. Along with the death toll and destruction inflicted in Gaza and the pain of the families of the Israeli hostages protesting in the streets of Tel Aviv again this evening, the war between Israel and Hamas has another sad “record”: It is Israel's longest war since 1948, longer than the 116 days of the First Lebanon War in 1982.
Putting aside the raw numbers, individual human tragedies that occur every highlight the urgency of a ceasefire.
In the past few days, a photo shared on social media by members of Gaza’s small Christian community stands out, that of the smiling face of Hani Abu Daoud, another of those civilian casualties that Pope Francis spoke about in his address to the diplomatic corps a few days ago, unacceptably downgraded more and more to war’s "collateral damage”.
Hani's story speaks for itself. An accident several years ago left him in need of regular dialysis, on a long waiting list for a kidney transplant. This did not prevent him from working on a job creation project in Gaza promoted by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
When hospitals in northern Gaza shut down one after the other in recent weeks due to the war, Hani had to leave for southern Gaza, alone.
Without his family, he looked for a hospital that could provide him with the dialysis service he needed; he found it but the care was irregular, until the destruction made it all but impossible even in that part of the Strip.
At that point, he tried to return to the north to at least spend his final days with his family. This, too, proved impossible: no one who left northern Gaza is allowed to return.
“Hani passed away yesterday,” writes Sami El-Yousef, chief executive officer at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, on his Facebook page.
He died “alone away from his wife and young children” from the “complications of his medical problem and lack of proper treatment and was buried in the south where there are no Christian cemeteries or clergy!! No one should face such circumstances”.
Such a “catastrophic war,” Sami El-Yousef adds, “must end now to avoid other human tragedies so people are allowed not only to live in dignity but also be allowed to die in dignity. May Hani rest in eternal peace and may God give strength to his wife and children to cope with their loss!”
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10/03/2008
