Cycle of Crisis: Medically Evacuated Gaza Infant Hospitalized Again After Return

A one-year-old Palestinian girl, evacuated from Gaza for severe nutritional problems, is back in a local hospital just days after being returned from six months of treatment in Jordan. The case of Siwar Ashour starkly illustrates the precarious state of healthcare in Gaza and the cycle of crisis facing its most vulnerable residents, caught between humanitarian aid efforts and the harsh realities of a post-conflict zone.

Siwar, whose story the BBC has followed, was repatriated to Gaza on December 3 after completing medical treatment in Amman under an evacuation program run by the Kingdom of Jordan. Her grandmother, Sahar Ashour, told a freelance journalist working for the BBC that she fell ill three days after returning. "She started having diarrhoea and vomiting and her situation keeps getting worse," she said.

She is now being treated at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where Dr. Khalil al-Daqran described her condition as "still bad." The doctor told the BBC that Siwar is suffering from a gastro-intestinal infection, compounded by an immune system deficiency that makes it difficult for her to fight bacteria. She also requires a specialized baby formula because she struggles to absorb nutrition.

Dr. Daqran noted that poor hygiene conditions, a result of destroyed infrastructure from the nearly two-year war, have led to a spread of infections. "Since the ceasefire was announced [in October], the number of child patients arriving at Gaza Strip hospitals is three times the capacity," he said, adding that his hospital suffers from severe shortages of medicine, medical supplies, and fuel for generators. The World Health Organization (WHO) has described humanitarian needs in Gaza as "staggering."

The decision to return a vulnerable child to such an environment has raised questions. Jordan's Minister of Communications, Dr. Mohammed al-Momani, explained the government's policy.

According to Dr. al-Momani, Siwar was one of 45 children returned after completing treatment. However, the family's ordeal continued at the border. Siwar's mother, Najwa Ashour, reported that Israeli officials confiscated nine of the 12 cans of hypoallergenic Neocate formula they had been given in Jordan. "They told us, 'It is forbidden to take more than these cans,'" she said. The family's extra clothing was also allegedly taken.

In response to a BBC query, the Israeli government stated that limits were placed on what could be taken back for "security considerations." They said only minimal luggage was allowed and that this had been communicated to Jordanian authorities and the families. "In cases where the luggage exceeded the approved scope, its entry was denied," the statement read.

The WHO has appealed for more countries to offer medical evacuation for patients who cannot be treated in Gaza, calling on Israel to allow them access to East Jerusalem and the West Bank as a more effective route. Israel stopped such evacuations after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7th two years prior. Now, Siwar's family is once again trying to secure her evacuation, a process managed by the WHO in a place the UN calls "a wasteland."