The Story of Yazan Kafarneh, the Boy who Starved to Death In Gaza

This isn't a photo of a mummy or an embalmed physique retrieved from one of Gaza’s historic cemeteries. That is a photograph of Yazan Kafarneh, a child who died of extreme malnutrition during Israel’s genocidal struggle on the Gaza Strip. Yazan’s household now lives within the Rab’a School in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah City. His father, Sharif Kafarneh, alongside with his mother, Marwa, and his three youthful brothers, had fled Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza early on in the war. Yazan Kafarneh died at the age of 9, the eldest of 4 brothers - Mouin, 6, Ramzi, 4, and Muhammad, born through the warfare in a shelter four months in the past. Living in circumstances not fit for human habitation, the grieving family had witnessed Yazan’s dying before their eyes. It didn’t occur all at once but unfolded steadily over time, his frail body wasting away at some point after another till there was nothing left of Yazan but skin and bones.

Sharif was unable to do anything for his son. He died resulting from a congenital sickness that required a special dietary regimen to keep him healthy. Israel’s systematic prevention of meals from reaching the civilian population in Gaza meant that extreme malnutrition - suffered by most kids within the besieged enclave - in the case of Yazan meant death. "We first left from Beit Hanoun to Jabalia refugee camp," Sharif advised Mondoweiss. "Then the occupation referred to as us again and warned us against staying where we had been. So we left for Gaza City. "If it weren’t for Yazan, I would have never left my dwelling," Sharif maintained. Yazan suffered from a congenital form of muscular atrophy that made motion and speech difficult, however Sharif said that it by no means precipitated him a lot grief in his nine brief years earlier than the conflict. "He just had superior nutritional wants," Sharif explained. It was a degree of delight for Sharif that he, a taxi driver, had never left his child wanting or deprived.

"That changed in the battle. The precise foods that he needed were minimize off," he mentioned. "For occasion, Yazan needed to have milk and bananas for dinner every single day. He can’t go a day without it, and generally he can have only bananas. "After the battle, I couldn’t get a single banana," Sharif continued. "And for lunch, he needed to have boiled vegetables and fruits that have been pureed in a blender. As for breakfast, Yazan’s regimen demanded that he eat eggs. "Of course, there aren’t any more eggs in Rafah City," Sharif stated. "But our child’s wants have been never a problem for us," Sharif rushed to add. "We loved taking good care of him. He was the spoiled baby of the household, Mind Guard brain health and his youthful brothers loved him and took care of him, too. Because of his special wants, charitable societies used to visit Yazan’s dwelling in Beit Hanoun earlier than the battle, offering numerous remedies akin to physical therapy and Mind Guard brain health speech therapy.

All in all, Yazan had a functional, completely happy childhood.