BBC photographer is troubled by malnourished Gaza children injured during Israel strike

There are many horrors in the war. The dead, the fragments of the dead. dying. Going hungry. Now more and more people – all the weight of human suffering that my brave colleagues in Gaza have witnessed.

Avoiding the impulse of gaze can overwhelm everything. But photographers working for the BBC could not turn around, and one of them became the casualties on Tuesday. For their safety, we did not reveal the names of our colleagues at the Gaza location.

Our photographer was not seriously injured, but it was a matter of luck. Israeli bombs are launched into parking lot of Khan Yunis European Hospital Dozens of killed and injured.

The Israelis said Hamas’ leaders were hiding in command and control the compound under the hospital. The Army said it had a “precise strike” and accused Hamas of “cynical and cruel use of civilians around the hospital.” Hamas denied the allegation.

At the time of the attack, families who were evacuated from sick children in Gaza gathered in the hospital. There are also families waiting to meet with children treated abroad.

One of the fathers was with our BBC colleagues and was injured by a bomb. He is now discharged from the hospital. Painful images show our reporter trying to comfort the man’s fear of the child.

Warning: This report contains painful images.

Most of my colleague’s work has been focused on the dilemma of malnourished children in recent days.

Not long before the explosion, I posted a message, thanking his work for shooting, great sensitivity Siwar Ashour. This is his answer:

“Sivar’s story breaks something among all of us, and it’s one of the most painful things I have to do. But I know her face, her name and her story, has to be seen-have to be heard.”

Siwar is five months old and acute malnutrition, and a child’s big brown eyes occupy her shrinking frame. They followed her mother Najwa’s every move. On Tuesday, Najwa sent us a video message about her room at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.

She hopes the world knows how much she loves her children. “I hope she can get the treatment she needs, fully recover and come back like she used to – play like other kids, grow and weigh like other kids. She is my first kid and as her mother, I feel so sad for her.”

Over the past few days, Siwar has developed a skin infection. There was a sore on her hand. She also has a serious gastrointestinal condition. Fighting is to keep nourished in her body. Her immune system is fighting the deprivation caused by the Israeli lockdown.

The baby’s cry is weak, but full of urgency, the sound of life struggling to survive. Due to severe allergies, Siwar can only drink special milk formulas.

There is some better news on Tuesday. Medical staff at a nearby Jordanian field hospital managed to find some of the recipes she needed. This is a small amount, but they plan to send more.

In the next few days, there are plans to bring sick children to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. In Amman, several Gaza families have already received children injured in illness or war in local hospitals. These evacuations coordinated with the Israelis, who conducted background checks on parents traveling with their children.

In January, we filmed the arrival of Abdelrahman al-Nashash and his mom Asma. Abdelrahman lost his leg in the Israeli bombing.

For four months, they lived in a place with food and shelter. A safe place.

Asma called her children and their grandmother in Gaza when we visited them on Tuesday.

Najwa grandmother talked about the war around her. “Rockets are everywhere, fire on our heads. Food. Life is terrible. No flour. Price is high.”

The children waved and blow to kiss their mothers.

Afterwards, Asma tells us: “I don’t know what to say. I’m so grateful to my mom for everything she did for me. I wish I could come back to find them safe and healthy.” She collapsed and fell silent.

Only through the mother’s eyes can she see her child trapped at a safe distance, fear and hunger, can she imagine why anyone would want to go back to Gaza.

With other reports from Alice Doyard, Suha Kawar and Nik Millard.