Gaza Mother Battles to Save Cancer-Stricken Daughter After Losing Three Children in Conflict

Nancy Abu Matroud, a 22-year-old Palestinian mother, has endured the devastating loss of three children during the Gaza conflict. Now, she faces another heart-wrenching battle: saving her two-year-old daughter Etra, who suffers from cancer and has lost access to critical medical care after the children's hospital treating her closed during Israel's recent offensive in Gaza City.

"We are simply asking for shelter," pleads Abu Matroud. "I cannot bear to lose my remaining daughter."

The prolonged war in Gaza, approaching its two-year mark, has subjected most families to a lethal combination of disease, displacement, inadequate medical care, and malnutrition. These conditions have been particularly devastating for young children and pregnant women like Abu Matroud.

Last month, while six months pregnant with twins, Abu Matroud fled Israeli bombardment in Gaza City. She described a grueling three-day journey on foot to reach the central Gaza Strip, accompanied by her husband and young Etra.

Upon arriving in the Al Nuwairi area, Abu Matroud went into premature labor. One twin died at Al-Awda Hospital in nearby Nuseirat. The second baby was transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital's infant department but also passed away after two days, according to hospital spokesperson Khalil al-Daqran.

Premature infants face exceptional vulnerability during Gaza's conflict. Jonathan Crickx, spokesperson for UNICEF State of Palestine, explained the dire situation: "We're seeing increased rates of premature births. The necessary equipment—incubators to maintain protective environments and ventilators to support lung development—is severely lacking throughout Gaza."

Faraj al-Ghalayini, 53, the children's father, now prepares meals for Etra by a roadside, heating canned chickpeas over makeshift fires. "What have we done wrong? What have our children done to deserve this?" he laments. "God blessed me with my two-year-old daughter, and I was eagerly awaiting these twins."

Their curly-haired toddler Etra sits on a blanket by the road, wearing a soiled striped shirt and playing with a rag doll, while her parents face profound uncertainty about her future.

"We're at a complete loss—nobody inquires about our welfare, neither international communities nor our own people," al-Ghalayini expressed in frustration.

Gaza's healthcare infrastructure has collapsed under constant Israeli bombardment. Only 14 of the territory's 35 hospitals remain partially operational, according to Crickx.

The Israeli military has stated that it continues implementing measures to enable medical care provision and support ongoing operations at medical facilities throughout Gaza, working alongside international humanitarian organizations.

The majority of Gaza's approximately 2.2 million residents have been forced to relocate multiple times between northern and southern regions during the conflict. Women enduring these repeated displacements without proper care face heightened risks of premature delivery, with widespread malnutrition worsening their condition.

The global hunger monitor IPC declared famine in Gaza City in August, before Israel launched its long-threatened ground assault on the city, further intensifying the humanitarian emergency.

"In August alone, UNICEF treated 13,000 children under five for acute malnutrition—an alarming figure that includes babies and premature infants," Crickx noted.

Abu Matroud revealed that her four-year-old son from a previous marriage disappeared at the war's outset. Losing the twins has brought another unbearable tragedy to her young life.

"I named them Mahmoud and Farida," she said of her twins, her voice heavy with grief.