Diabetics in Gaza face battle for survival | Israel-Palestine War News

At the start of another day of Israel’s war on Gaza, 20-year-old Hamza al-Ghazali, who lives in the Zeitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City, set out again to look for an insulin pen.

This is not the first time that he has moved between pharmacies and hospitals, looking for a dose. The effort has been a recurring part of his life since the start of the war in October 2023 and the extension of Israel’s military restrictions. drug penetration and medicine in the Gaza Strip.

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Hamza knows that delaying insulin doses can be life-threatening. Type 1 diabetes requires daily medical care and continuous monitoring. However, under war and blockade conditions, controlling the disease has turned into a daily, very dangerous struggle.

Hamza remembers how good his health was before the war. They found industrial insulin at prices ranging from 25 to 35 shekels ($8.5 to $12) per pen, sometimes even less.

“I got to know all the pharmacies, and they knew me too, because I always bought insulin pens,” says Hamza.

But this changed dramatically with the war and the tightening of restrictions on drug imports. The cost of a single insulin pen rose between 75 and 100 shekels ($25 and $34), and, as Hamza needed six to seven pens a month, he was forced to try to extend the use of each pen as long as possible.

Fight to survive

The suffering of diabetics in Gaza extends to blocking the entry of medicine through the border, a process that has led to a severe shortage of insulin, glucose meters, and test strips.

Hamza says that this lack has created an unstable medical reality, where, in some cases, drugs that may be stored for a long time or inappropriate appear on the market, complaining about the lack of power or uncertain quality due to the lack of alternatives.

A year ago, when Israel’s blockade on the entry of food caused a famine in northern GazaHamza was forced to eat whatever he could find.

But for Hamza, it was not only getting enough food for his body, but also finding the right balance between the insulin he had and the food he could get.

If they eat too much without sufficient insulin, then they can have high blood sugar. If he reduces his food intake due to fear of running out of insulin, then this can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

“I was scared myself during the shelling in northern Gaza,” Hamza said. If the building is bombed, I can live under the stutter, but I will die from low sugar.

She said the fear was not only losing her insulin, but also losing her glucose meter and test strips, which she relies on every day to check her condition. Whenever he was forced to move, the first thing he packed was his “sugar bag”.

Lack of equipment

Glucose test strips have been missing, preventing Hamza from monitoring his blood sugar levels daily and forcing him to rely on his own judgement.

Hamza says the cost of a glucometer is between 250 and 300 shekels ($85 and $120), but the real problem is the availability of test strips.

Without them, the device is useless, forcing some patients to repeatedly buy new devices. Hamza estimates that more than 80 percent of diabetics in some areas cannot test their blood sugar regularly, which he describes as a “medical disaster”, because it turns medicine into a daily fantasy.

According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, between 70,000 and 80,000 diabetics in the Palestinian enclave are at risk due to a large lack of insulin and test strips, including the collapse of medical follow-up services and unhealthy diets.

Endocrinology and diabetes specialist Dr Adli al-Ghouti says that about 2,500 children in Gaza have Type 1 diabetes, and are at risk of serious complications.

Due to lack of insulin, lack of proper storage facilities, and power outages, the real problem is happening.

Al-Ghouti warns that the deterioration of the quality of insulin, the loss of goods found in Gaza, and improper storage can reduce the overall strength, create a false sense of security when blood sugar levels remain uncontrolled, which can lead to serious problems such as diabetic ketoacidosis, an emergency that can lead to life.

“Taking the last dose of insulin can cause a serious problem in the body, giving a short-term picture,” said Dr al-Ghouti.

Therefore, diabetes is no longer a problem that can be easily managed in Gaza. Between the lack of insulin, lack of measuring equipment, rising prices, and malnutrition, even simple medical procedures become a daily struggle for survival.