SAFA- Fourteen-year-old Hala Al-Ghandour has become a symbol of the suffering endured by thousands of injured children in Gaza who survived Israel's ongoing genocide only to face another battle: the struggle to obtain the specialized medical treatment they desperately need.

Pulled alive from the rubble of her family's home in northern Gaza, Hala survived the attack with catastrophic injuries. Her mother and her sister, Salma, whom she describes as her "other half," were killed beneath the same collapsed building. What should have marked the beginning of her recovery instead became a painful journey of mounting medical complications and dwindling treatment options.

Hala suffers from severe deformities in her foot that have left her unable to walk. Shrapnel remains lodged in her abdomen and pelvis, causing persistent internal complications that continue to threaten her life. 

She has also lost the ability to urinate normally and experiences dangerous fluctuations in her blood sugar levels as a result of the trauma and injuries she sustained.

Hoping to save her life, her family managed to evacuate her to Jordan for treatment. However, they were informed that the highly specialized surgeries she requires are unavailable there, leaving her condition unresolved and her future uncertain.

"I survived death in northern Gaza after losing my mother and my sister Salma beneath the rubble," Hala told Safa News Agency. "I came out with a shattered body, hoping to find treatment that could give me my life back."

Describing her daily struggle, she said, "My body feels like that of an elderly person. I can no longer walk."

An Urgent Plea for Medical Intervention

The shrapnel embedded in her abdomen continues to cause severe internal complications, while the prolonged delay in receiving specialized medical care has significantly worsened her condition.

Now orphaned, Hala has issued an emotional appeal to the international community to help save her life.

"I have no mother to hold me or care for me, and no sister by my side," she said. "I appeal to international organizations and medical associations to arrange my urgent transfer to a specialized hospital before it is too late."

A relative accompanying Hala said her condition continues to deteriorate and that she urgently requires complex surgical intervention.

"Transporting Hala to Jordan was our last hope," the relative said. "Finding out that the treatment she needs is unavailable here was devastating."

According to her family, the shrapnel lodged in Hala's abdomen and pelvis causes recurring infections and severe complications every day. They warn that any further delay in transferring her to an advanced medical center could permanently deprive her of the ability to walk and place her life at even greater risk.

Hala's story unfolds amid the unprecedented collapse of Gaza's healthcare system under Israel's ongoing military campaign. The destruction of hospitals, shortages of specialized medical services, and continued restrictions on medical evacuations have left thousands of wounded Palestinians without access to life-saving treatment.

International medical organizations have warned that hundreds of children suffering from complex injuries involving internal organs, bones, nerves, and limbs urgently require evacuation for advanced reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term specialized care unavailable inside Gaza.

Only a few patients are allowed to leave Gaza each week for treatment overseas, despite the enormous need, leaving countless others to wait while their conditions worsen. Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned that delays and restrictions on medical evacuations are condemning many injured Palestinians to permanent disabilities or preventable deaths.