Nidal Abu Rabeea’s family said they had secured medical referral documents for treatment abroad but were unable to exit Gaza, where Israel’s military campaign has devastated the enclave’s healthcare system.

“Israel closed the crossings and killed my son,” said Iman Hamdouna, his mother, adding that her son suffered from an enlarged liver and persistent high fever for months before his death.

Local media reported that Nidal was two years old.

Hospitals across Gaza, operating under severe shortages caused by Israeli restrictions and destruction of facilities, were unable to provide the specialized treatment he required.

The collapse of medical infrastructure has left thousands of sick and wounded Palestinians without access to higher-level care unavailable inside the territory of 2.3 million people, most of whom have been displaced.

According to Zaher al-Wahidi, spokesperson for the Gaza Ministry of Health, 1,360 patients have died while waiting for permission to travel for medical treatment since May 7, 2024, when the Israeli regime closed the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only outlet to the outside world.

Although the crossing partially reopened on February 2, movement through it remains tightly restricted by slow and limited Israeli approvals.

In an earlier interview with Al Jazeera, al-Wahidi said Israel “has deliberately and methodically destroyed the health system”, citing near-total suspension of medical evacuations, shortages of equipment and medication, destruction of hospitals, and a critical lack of medical personnel.

Despite a ceasefire agreement reached last October between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces have continued attacks in Gaza, killing more than 600 Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the wider health crisis continues to claim lives.

The Health Ministry says 350,000 patients in Gaza suffer from chronic illnesses amid collapsing services and restricted access to care.

Before the war began in October 2023, Gaza had 1,244 kidney patients, but that number has fallen to 622, al-Wahidi said.

At the same time, Nidal’s family faces renewed uncertainty.

His sister, born one month before his death, remains hospitalized at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza.

The one-month-old also holds medical referral documents for treatment abroad that have not been fulfilled, leaving her life at risk.

“She is lying sick in Al-Aqsa Hospital. My son died, and I’m afraid I will lose my daughter,” Hamdouna said.

Under the October ceasefire terms, Israeli authorities committed to reopening the southern Rafah crossing for medical evacuations.

The agreement provided for 50 patient evacuations per day, but actual departures have fallen far short of that figure.

Data released by the Gaza Government Media Office showed that between February 2 and 18, 1,148 Palestinians crossed the Rafah border in both directions, compared with the agreed total of 3,400 for the period.

Of those, 640 departed Gaza and 508 returned, while 26 Palestinians were turned back while attempting to leave.