Gaza: diabetic patients dying because of a lack of insulin and food

In one of the most horrific examples of the siege and famine Israel is imposing on the Gaza Strip, a diabetic patient died in one of the displacement camps in central Gaza after his family was unable to find a single spoonful of sugar to save him from a sharp drop in his blood sugar level.

The tragedy began when 62-year-old Abu Mahmoud suddenly felt weak and began shaking inside the tent where he was staying with his grandchildren. His family rushed to find any source of sugar, walking among the tents of the displaced, but to no avail. No candy, no juice, no medicine… Not even a spoonful of sugar.

The rescue attempts turned into chaos of fear and helplessness. Rubbing his hands, tilting his head, and cries for help were of no use, as there was no hospital nearby and no ambulance able to enter. A few minutes were enough for him to lose consciousness and then his body to become still forever, amid the cries of his loved ones and their inability to do anything.

A recurring tragedy in Gaza

What happened to Abu Mahmoud is not an isolated case, but a tragic example that is repeated daily in the Gaza Strip, which is suffering from a comprehensive health and food collapse. Since the start of the genocide, some two million Palestinians have been besieged amid the systematic destruction of health infrastructure and a total ban on the entry of adequate food and medical supplies.

The deliberate starvation policy pursued by the occupying forces has led to the closure of crossings and the prevention of the entry of medicines, including insulin and supplies for diabetes patients, exacerbating the suffering of thousands of patients.

According to data from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 350,000 patients with chronic diseases, including tens of thousands of diabetics, face certain death due to the shortage of medicines and the closure of health centres.

In addition to the destruction, displaced people living in tents lack the basic necessities of life, as there is no electricity, clean water, adequate food, or refrigeration to store sensitive medicines such as insulin. The famine that has begun to hit the sector hard has led to widespread cases of severe malnutrition among children and older people, and simple illnesses have become death sentences in the absence of medicine.

A silent death

We learned about this story after it was recounted by someone close to the situation in order to raise awareness about what is happening in Gaza. However, this story may be one of thousands of stories that we know nothing about, whose victims die in silence without us knowing the details of their deaths in Gaza, which the world has abandoned.

Despite local and international appeals, the occupation authorities continue to delay the effective opening of the crossings. International humanitarian organisations accuse the occupation of using food and medicine as weapons against civilians, in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions, while the international community remains unable to take effective steps to save the catastrophic situation in Gaza.

What happened to Abu Mahmoud sums up the experience of thousands of Gazans: death comes not only from bombing, but also from hunger, thirst, and a lack of sugar, insulin, antibiotics, and everything else that could save a person from a slow death. In Gaza, it is not enough to survive the bombing; you have to learn how to stay alive without medicine… or even a spoonful of sugar.

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