War scars: Gaza boy's future hangs by a thread

Shafaq News

2 days ago

Shafaq News – Gaza
Fifteen-year-old Obaida Abdullah Atwan once dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. Now he sits in a narrow alley in Gaza, missing an arm and a leg after an Israeli airstrike leveled his family's home.
His story mirrors the devastation faced by Gaza's youth, where war has not only shattered bodies but also crushed childhoods in a place with almost no functional healthcare.
A Childhood Cut Short
'I was just sitting at home like any other day,' Obaida told Shafaq News. 'Then the bombing hit. I woke up in the hospital not understanding anything—when I realized I couldn't move my toes, I cried.'
For children like Obaida, the wounds are more than physical. The trauma of sudden amputation—compounded by the absence of immediate rehabilitation—can lead to profound psychological distress. Aid organizations like the international NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) warn that without timely intervention, children develop long-term conditions such as depression, identity loss, and PTSD.
In Obaida's case, the damage cut through more than flesh—it severed his connection to everything he once loved.
A Family Changed Forever
Obaida's uncle, Ibrahim Marwan Atwan, told our agency that the household dynamic shifted overnight, explaining, 'He used to do everything on his own. Now he needs help.'
With no formal support system, the Atwans, like many Gaza families, have become full-time caregivers inside a broken system that can no longer carry its weight.
A Pledge Undelivered
Although Obaida received a medical referral and the Red Cross pledged assistance, his prosthetics have yet to arrive, delayed by Israel's blockade, stalled permits, and logistical failures that choke nearly every medical evacuation.
'Every time I pass the street where I used to play football, I remember those days,' Obaida said. 'If I get treatment abroad, I'll play again—maybe even better.'
A Collapsing System
Gaza's health infrastructure is in ruins—hospitals overcrowded, prosthetic care nearly nonexistent, and most devices requiring overseas fabrication and clearance through complex webs of bureaucracy, NGOs, and military permissions.
Mental health programs are thin, sporadically funded, and constantly under threat from airstrikes and displacement, leaving most children without psychological care.
A Generation on Hold
Without urgent intervention, Gaza faces a silent emergency: thousands of children like Obaida may grow up permanently disabled, isolated from care, education, and opportunity—further deepening the enclave's long-term humanitarian collapse.
Still, Obaida holds on, believing he'll get back on the field one day.